Persona: Nightmare
by SapphireLibra3
Summary: People in the Mushroom Kingdom are having the same dream, and then falling into comas soon after. Without any logical explanation, it's up to Felix Toadstien and his team of Persona users to figure out the truth. But how far does this mystery go?
1. Chapter 1

**This was definitely one of my more random and original ideas. If some characters are out of character, that's on purpose to fit the genre.**

**Only the OCs belong to me. Mario and all related characters belong to Nintendo, and Persona belongs to Atlus.**

Chapter 1

In another dimension surrounded by a purple sky and a big white full moon in the background, a gothic and old fashioned looking train was riding on golden tracks suspended in mid air. The train's destination was unknown, and it showed no signs of stopping any time soon.

Inside one of the cars was a man with a long nose, balding head, and wearing a nice suit. He was leaning forward with his hands folded as if he were in deep thought, and his eyes were closed. Next to him was a woman with long blue hair and a blue suit jacket and skirt like a secretary. She was holding a book in her lap.

The man opened his eyes, which were creepy to say the least, and looked at the newest "guest".

"Welcome," he said, "to the Velvet Room."

The guest was confused. Who was this man, and where was he? He called it the Velvet Room...

"My name is Igor, and I'm the caretaker of this Velvet Room." He turned to the woman next to him, "This is my assistant, Mary."

The woman opened her red eyes and looked at the guest, "Hello," she said calmly, obviously she didn't speak much.

"So then," Igor continued, "Could you tell us your name?"

The guest thought, strange how the guest had to think to remember their own name. Eventually the words came to them...

"Felix Toadstine..."

"Felix..." Igor said taking in the name, "You certainly are one of our stranger guests, but you being here means that a new chapter in your life is about to unfold. Shall we peer into your future?" he said as a deck of Tarot Cards appeared in front of him.

"Tell me, do you belive in fortune telling?" he asked the guest, "Each fortune uses the same cards, but the results are unique to each person." He drew three cards and sat them side by side. He then turned the card on his left over...

"Justice, upright. This is a sign that in your life you've been looking for a sense of balance and harmony. Perhaps it has been out of your reach for some time." He turned over the second card...

"The Moon, upright. Your present is the end of one cycle, and the beginning of another. This new cycle will lead to many changes, some good, some bad." He then turned over the final card...

"Strength, also upright. Your intention to help others will spark great energies and change. But you'll have to remember that power without control is nothing." The cards disappeared, and Igor looked at the guest again.

"It seems like you'll sign a contract of sorts in your future. That is why your subconscious brought you to us." All of this was confusing. A contract? Igor chuckled, "Worry not, for the time will come when this will all make sense. Until then, farewell."

Everything went white as the Velvet Room faded away.

~Thrusday April 11th, Afternoon

"Attention passengers, we shall be arriving in the Mushroom Kingdom in a few minutes."

The engineer woke Felix up from his nap. He was what some people called a "Toad" or "Mushroomer". He was average height, his mushroom shaped "hat" was white with dark green spots, and he was currently wearing blue jeans, a black hoodie, and white sneakers. He looked about seventeen, maybe eighteen.

He looked out the window next to him, at the small town he would be calling home for the next year. It stood right next to the castle, which Felix thought was quite a site to behold. He figured that he would probably never see the inside of it though. Personally when his parents went away to another contry to work, he only decided to go here because he wanted to stay in school. After all, it was his third and last year in high school. Why make him wait when he could just get it out of the way. He would have to finish school in another school, but he liked traveling. Only it looked absolutely boring here.

The only thing he was looking forward to was staying with his pen pal's family. Her name was Karen, and they went to the same elementary school together. They kept in touch, so when she offered to let him stay with her for the year, he of course jumped at the chance. She lived with her father, who despite being a koopa, was a guard for the Princess. Sadly this didn't mean that he would get an audience with the Princess. Her dad never even saw her. He was basically a police officer.

Felix got off the train a few minutes later. With his bag in hand he looked around, hoping to see his childhood friend.

"Hey! Felix!" a high femenine voice called out. Felix turned around to see a koopa girl with long purple hair, a red shell, and wearing a white blouse, blue skirt, and white sneakers. This was his friend, Karen. Felix smiled and walked over to her.

"Oh my God! Felix, you look amazing! I mean, I saw your picture, but I didn't think you would have grown up so much."

"You look great yourself," Felix said with a smile, making Karen blush a bit.

"Oh stop, you," Karen said giggling, "But I'm surprised, you live in the big city, so why come all the way out here for school?"

"Well, it was a good excuse to see you for one, and two, I heard that Redshroom High was one of the best schools in the country."

"Well, it _is _in the kingdom. It's a bit of a walk from my house to the school, but I like it. Speaking of which, we should probably start walking to my house."

"Is it far from here?"

"Not at all. It's actually pretty close. Let's go."

Felix nodded as he and Karen started walking to Karen's house, both of them thinking of how it was in elementary school, and hoping that it would be like it was back then.

They walked for a few minutes until they reached a small store. It looked like a mini mart.

"Hey, Felix, would you mind if we stopped here for a second? I'm kind of thirsty." Felix shook his head, saying that he didn't mind. Karen smiled, "Thanks Felix. I'll get you something too if you want."

Felix nodded, and Karen walked inside. Felix decided to stay outside to soak in the environment. The town looked really busy, reminding him of the city sort of. He looked to the right of him and saw a poster with Princess Peach on the front. He walked over to it to get a closer look.

She was absolutely stunning. Her blond hair was long and fell to about half way to her waist, she had deep blue eyes full of emotion, and the sweetest smile. Even through the poster though, Felix saw the slightest hint of sadness in her eyes. It made her want to meet her even more.

"Um, excuse me," Felix heard from behind him. He turned around and saw a woman with black hair and red eyes wearing blue jeans, a green tube top, and black high heeled boots. She walked over to him, "Are you new to this town?" Felix nodded, still weary of the woman.

"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable," she continued, "I just noticed that you were looking at Princess Peach's picture. Are you a student?" Felix nodded again, "I see. I work in that shop your friend went into. We're hoping to get a few students willing to help part time." She held out her hand, "Stop by sometime, I'll let you know if there's an opening."

Felix nodded and shook the woman's hand. As she walked away, Karen walked back outside.

"Sorry I took so long Felix," she said. For some reason Felix started feeling light headed. Aparently Karen noticed and got worried, "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Felix said, despite how weird his head was feeling.

"Here, I got you a soda. It might make you feel better."

Felix thanked Karen and took the soda. He did feel a little better after drinking it.

"Let's get back to my house so you can lie down," Karen said leading Felix to her house.

-Afternoon/Evening-

The sun was setting by the time they made it to Karen's house, which was in the suburban area of the Mushroom Kingdom.

"Daddy, we're home!" Karen called out. An older Kooba man with a bald head (typical for male Koopas) blue shell, wearing officer attire minus the hat walked out.

"Wow, don't tell me this is Felix." he said actually surprised. He walked over to them with a smile, "The last time I saw you, you were still half my size. You remember me, right?"

"Of course sir," Felix said with a smile.

"What did I tell you about that "sir" business? Just call me Clyde," Karen's father stated with a smile.

"Daddy, is Felix's room ready?" Karen asked, still worried about her friend's condition.

"Yep. Why, is he tired?"

"I think a little," Karen turned to Felix, "Are you feeling okay now Felix?" she asked. Felix nodded, despite still feeling a bit light headed.

"You can unpack later," Clyde said, "Why don't you go lie down for a little while." Felix nodded, deciding to take them up on that offer.

"Here Felix, I'll show you to your room," Karen said. Felix walked with Karen to his room.

His room was nice and big, bigger than the room he had back home.

"We'll be starting classes tomorrow," Karen said, "You should rest up for tomorrow. Besides, they'll be plenty of time to hang out this year, right?" Felix nodded. "Have a good night Felix," with that Karen stepped out of Felix's room and let him rest for the night.


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm trying to capture the whole Persona feel with this story. How am I doing? I hope Felix is cool so far. If it seems too much like Persona 4 right now, don't worry. It's going to start feeling different soon.**

Chapter 2

_Felix woke up in a strange place. It felt like he was outside, but the ground he was lying on was made of glass it seemed. The environment in the background was a purple sky with a big silver moon, similar to the Velvet Room. The ground extended forward, like a hallway._

_"Do you possess courage?" a mysterious voice said from nowhere, "If so, prove it by proceeding forward."_

_Felix started slow, and then started running forward. He kept running until he reached a large golden door that looked like a door you'd see in a castle. He opened the door to find a large circular arena. On the ground was a large picture of Princess Peach, but she was lying down curled up on her side in the picture, and it looked like she was crying, or afraid of something._

_"So you do have courage enough to proceed into the unknown. But how strong are you?" As the voice spoke, three blobs with blue masks on appeared around him. Felix had no idea how it happened, but a samurai katana appeared in his hand._

_The blobs ran up to him, but Felix slashed at them, actually doing serious damage. They died almost instantly._

_"Impressive. Can tell that you'll bring great change to this place. Until next time..."_

~Friday April 12, Morning

Felix woke up slowly. He was getting really sick and tired of having these strange dreams, and they didn't make any sense. He was shocked out of his daze by a knock on his door.

"Felix, it's Karen. Are you up yet?"

"Yeah, I'm up," Felix said walking up to the door opening it. Karen was already in her school uniform, consisting of a sailor style white top, blue skirt, white socks, and black shoes.

"I figured we could walk to school together, you know, like old times," Felix nodded, thinking that was a good idea, "I'll wait for you downstairs. Don't take too long," she said walking off. Felix decided to get changed into his school uniform.

His uniform consisted of the typical black pants and matching black jacket. He wore his sneakers, and kept the uniform jacket unbuttoned. After changing he walked downstairs, only to find Karen setting the breakfast table. Clyde wasn't present though.

"Where's your dad?" Felix asked, catching Karen's attention.

"He's a city guard, so he had to get out of the house early," Karen said. She then looked down in sadness a bit, surprising Felix a bit.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah Felix, I'm fine. Let's eat," Karen said trying to change the subject. Felix didn't want to leave it alone, but he decided it was best to do so.

After eating breakfast, Felix and Karen walked to school together. The walk was nice, and Felix got to see a good bit of the town.

"Well, here we are," Karen said, "Since I'm still a second year, this is where we part ways. But we should be able to hang out at lunch." Felix nodded in agreement, "So, I'll see you later Felix," Karen then walked into the school. Felix looked around a bit until he saw a large white limo parked next to the school. Who could that belong to? He thought about it for a few seconds, but then decided to go inside before he was late on his first day.

The homeroom teacher for class 3-B was an older man with brown spots on his mushroom shaped hat, a white beard, and big glasses. He was wearing a brown suit, and was actually shorter than most of the students. As he walked in the classroom, all the students settled into their seats.

"Now, for those of you who don't know me, I'm Mr. Wilson. Not only am I your homeroom teacher, but I'll be teaching history as well. But before we get into that, I'd like to introduce you all to our new student. Please come in," at that moment, Felix walked into the classroom, "Everyone, this is Felix Toadstien. He's transferring to our school from the city."

"It's nice to meet all of you," Felix said with a smile. There was a series of murmers from the students.

"Felix, huh? He seems nice," one guy said.

"That's just a ruse. He's from the city, remember? He probably thinks he's better than us," his friend said.

Felix looked around the classroom until he saw something that made him stop. One of the girls in his class was a girl with blond hair and a silver tiara. Out of all the girls, she was probably the prettiest. She was currently reading a book. Felix couldn't shake the feeling that he had seen her somewhere before.

When she looked up at Felix, he got a look at her deep blue eyes, and recognized her instantly. The woman on the poster yesterday, Princess Peach. She was still in high school? For some reason Felix thought she was older, he didn't know why though. _Princess_ Peach? Also, seeing her in person she did seem like his age, maybe a year older.

She looked at Felix for a few seconds, but then looked away, as if she were afraid of something. Felix decided to take a seat, but the problem was the only spare seat was next to the Princess. Was he worthy enough to sit next to her?

"There's an empty seat next to Her Majesty. Um, could Felix sit next to you?" Mr. Wilson asked. The Princess looked up instantly.

"Oh, uh... yes. I don't see a problem with it." She had the sweetest voice. It was soft, and high. The kind of voice you'd expect from a princess.

This was big though, Felix sitting next to Princess Peach. He still wasn't sure how worthy he was, especially after looking at the stares the students gave him. Apparently, since she sat in the front left corner of the classroom, the only seat next to her was always empty. That was because all of the students were afraid to sit in that seat. Now Felix had no choice but to sit there. He thought about his next move carefully, and then calmly walked over to his seat. Once sitting down, he decided not to make a huge fuss over it, after all, she was human. Except that she was royalty, there wasn't anything really different about her. So he turned to her and did probably the boldest thing anyone could have done in that situation.

"Hi there," Felix said with a smile. The Princess turned to him, smiling a bit, but Felix could tell something was wrong.

"Um... hi," she said softly.

"Are you okay?" Felix asked.

"Yes, I'm fine," Peach said turning back to read her book. There was another series of murmers.

"Of course something's wrong," one girl behind them said, "she has to sit next to a pesant."

"Who does that guy think he is talking to her like that?" the girl's friend said, "She's way above him."

The Princess looked really uncomfortable hearing them talk like that, and Felix wasn't sure if it was because of him or what they were saying. He decided to let it go for now.

-Morning/Lunch-

Felix walked outside to the schoolyard and looked around.

"Felix!" he heard from a distance. He looked in that direction and saw Karen sitting under a tree calling him. He walked over to her and sat down next to her.

"So, how were your classes?" Karen asked. Felix juggled with the thought of telling her that one of his classmates was Princess Peach. He then thought it was best not to make a big deal of it and instead...

"They were okay. Too bad you weren't there."

"I know. God, it sucks that we're in different grades. You better tell me what college you go to! That way I can follow you there and _maybe_ share classes with you!"

"It's a deal then."

The two friends laughed and talked for a good while. The mood was killed though when...

"There he is!" an angry voice called out. Karen and Felix turned to see two angry girls walk up to them.

"Can I help you?" Felix said calmly.

"Who do you think you are talking to the Princess like that?" one girl said. Karen was shocked, but she kept silent for now.

"I thought I was being friendly. I didn't know that it was a national offense in the Mushroom Kingdom to say hi."

"Well, don't think you can just start being friends with her! She's the Princess, so you better show her proper respect!" with that the girls stormed off. Karen looked at Felix in shock.

"You didn't tell me that Princess Peach was in your class."

"I didn't want to make a big thing about it. She probably has to deal with stuff like that so much she's sick of it."

"I guess you're right. Personally, I don't know how I'd handle something like that. Where does she sit?"

"The front left corner of the classroom."

"I bet she would sit in the front. I wonder what it would be like to sit next to her."

"It's nice. She wears a really sweet perfume, and she tends to hum a lot." Karen looked at Felix again, absolutely done at this point.

"You mean you actually sit _next_ to her?" she asked, "Sheesh, I was hoping seeing me would be the highlight of your visit. It sounds like you're having more of a blast alone than with me."

"It's not that special. She may be the Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom, but she's still a girl. Except for the crystal tiara on her head she's probably no different than anyone else, and if she thought she was different than she wouldn't be in high school, she'd be home schooled of in some fancy transfer school for princesses."

"Wow Felix," Karen said shaking her head smiling, "You always had a way with people. I bet you and her become friends before the year is out."

"Maybe."

Unknown to them, the Princess was standing behind their tree listening to their conversation. She actually smiled hearing Felix talk as if she were just an average person.

-Lunch/After School

Felix was walking down the hall getting ready to leave school.

"Excuse me," he heard behind him. He turned to see the Princess standing behind him, "I'm sorry if the other students are giving you a hard time."

"Don't worry, it's not your fault."

"Isn't it? If I weren't the Princess then..."

"Not much you can do about that," Felix said simply, making her smile.

"You're right," she held out her hand, "You probably already know, but I'm Princess Peach."

"Felix," he said taking her hand. At that moment, Felix felt a surge of energy, and he heard Igor's voice in his head.

_And so it begins..._

What was that? Felix looked at the Princess, and it seemed like she felt the surge too.

She slowly let go of Felix's hand, and her smile returned, "I'll see you tomorrow, Felix." She then walked off. Felix waved to her, but then just looked at his hand in confusion.

"What begins?" he asked himself, as confused as ever.

Elsewhere, Clyde and another officer were standing in front of a house talking to a woman, who was really upset.

"Now, you're sure he didn't have any health problems?" Clyde asked.

"Positive."

"Did anything happen to your son prior to this incident?"

"Well, he told me that he had been having that dream, the one everyone in the town's been having."

"I see..." Clyde thought to himself, "Thank you, and if we learn anything about your son's condition we'll let you know."

"Thank you," the woman said going back inside. Clyde and the officer walked back to their car.

"He's the twelveth person in this town to fall into a coma," Clyde said.

"Do you think there's something in the water?" the officer asked.

"No, I'm actually thinking that it's related to the dreams. Ever since people have been mentioning it, more and more people have been falling into comas."

"Come on, you don't actually believe that a dream can induce a coma, do you?" the officer sounded incredulous. Clyde turned to the officer seriously.

"This is the Mushroom Kingdom, anything is possible," with that said Clyde walked off, the officer running after him.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

~Saturday April 13, Morning

Felix walked downstairs into the living room, already changed into his uniform. He saw Karen watching the news.

"It seems that another resident in the Mushroom Kingdom has fallen into a coma. This makes twelve victims to the strange epidemic. Currently, the authorities are still baffled as to what the cause of these incidents are, but officer Clyde McDonald believes to have found a connection." Both Felix and Karen were surprised to see Clyde appear on the screen.

"Dad?"

"This must have been prerecorded," Felix reasoned.

"After looking into the cases for the past month we've found that prior to falling into comas, the victims all saw the same purple sky and full moon in their dreams," hearing Clyde say that made Felix jump a bit, remembering the dream he had night before last, "We're still not sure how this relates, but we wish to know if anyone else in the Kingdom starts having these dreams."

Karen turned the TV off and looked down, "That sounds scary, a dream that induces a coma. I hope we're safe."

Felix was concerned about his dream, but he decided not to worry Karen.

"We'll be fine," he said reassurringly.

"Right."

-Morning/Lunch-

Felix and Karen were eating lunch together under the tree like usual. The both were trying to avoid talking about what they heard on the news, and instead stuck with old memories. It was amazing how close they still were despite being away from each other for so long. Feliix looked up for a second and saw Peach walking up to them. When Karen looked up she had a heart attack.

"F, F, F, Felix!" she said. Felix was just paying attention to her expression. It looked really serious for some reason.

He got up and faced her calmly, "Is something wrong?" he asked.

"Um, can I talk to you privately for a second?" Peach asked nervously. Felix nodded, and urned to Karen.

"Don't worry Felix, I'll wait here," she said, trying to calm down. Felix and Peach walked off a bit so Karen couldn't hear them.

"I'm sure you saw the news today, about the latest victim," Felix nodded, "As the Princess of the Mushroom Kingdom I have to worry about he well being of my people. Felix, have you had any... strange dreams lately?" Felix thought to himself for a little while, and then nodded, making Peach really concerned.

"I was afraid of this," she said to herself. She then looked back at Felix, "Be careful Felix, and if the dreams persist, then let me know, alright?" Felix nodded. Peach turned around and stood there for a second, "I have to warn Mario," she said before running off. Felix thought that whole encounter was weird, but instead of making a fuss over it, he decided to walk back to Karen.

"So, what did she want?" Karen asked Felix once he got back.

"She was concerned if I had been having the dreams," Felix said, making Karen worried.

"Have you?"

"I had a weird dream a few nights ago, but I'm still here, right?"

"I guess..." Karen looked down worried, "I don't want to loose you Felix, I just got you back. If anything were to happen to you I'd..."

"Nothing is going to happen to me, "Felix said, comforting Karen a little.

"I'm holding you to that," Karen hugged Felix tightly, "Don't you dare fall into a coma without me."

Felix thought the way she said that was weird, but he nodded all the same.

Lunch-After School

Felix and Karen decided to walk through town on their way back. While walking they saw Clyde talking to two unusual characters. They were humans, both wearing blue overalls and brown shoes, but one was wearing a red shirt and hat and the other one was wearing a green shirt and hat. The one in red was a little shorter and had a stockier build that was also strangely athletic. He had a mustache that was full and sort of wild, and his hat had a capital "M" on the front. The one in green was taller and skinnier than the one in red, yet he seemed younger. His mustache was neater than the other man's, and on his hat was a capital "L" on the front. They looked related.

"Daddy!" Karen called out. Clyde turned to Karen and Felix and waved. He then turned back to the two men. They nodded to him and walked off as Clyde walked over to Felix and Karen.

"Who were those two?" Karen asked.

"Those were the plummers I told you about. They said their names were Mario and Luigi."

"So are they finally going to fix that leak in the sink?" Karen asked, making Clyde chuckle.

"I hope so, sweety," he then turned to Felix, who was watching the two men walk off, "Is something wrong?"

Felix shook his head, but kept what he was really thinking to himself. The way they nodded to him didn't look like they were planning to "fix the sink". It seemed like they were discussing something else. But what?

"Did you two just get out of school?" Clyde asked.

"Yep. Guess what, Felix spoke with the Princess today."

"Is that so?" Clyde said looking at Felix, "She's quite stunning, isn't she?" Felix nodded, "I thought you'd think that. Personally I don't like that poster of her though. It makes her look older than she actually is."

Felix had to agree with that. She looked like she was twenty four or something on the poster, but in class you could actually see how young she really was.

"We saw you on the news today," Karen said seriously, "Has it really gotten that bad?"

"I'm afraid so, but don't worry. We have people already looking into the cause of the comas. All I want you two to concern yourselves with is school, and each other. Oh, and if you can make friends with Her Majesty then please try to. I think it would be good for her to start hanging out with people her age that don't pester her for autographs."

Felix avoided telling Clyde how Karen freaked out seeing her today, and instead nodded.

"Friends with the Princess? That's so cool! I wonder what she likes," Karen said in a dreamy tone.

Clyde laughed, "Why don't you two get home. I'll see you later on tonight."

"Okay daddy," Karen ran up to Clyde and kissed him on the cheek, "See you."

Felix nodded and followed after his friend.

-After School/Night Time-

After dinner, Felix went to bed. As he drifted off though, he had a weird feeling. It felt like he was being pulled down a dark abyss. He fought and fought, but he kept falling. What the hell was going on? Just then a blinding while light shined in front of him.

When Felix came to, he was in a strange castle. It was beautiful, with red walls, and a red carpet. He walked forward for a little while not too sure where he was going, but knowing that he wasn't going to find anything standing around.

He walked until he saw a door. When he opened the door he got he surprise of his life. Princess Peach was standing in the center of the room looking around. She was wearing the pink gown she was wearing on the poster, which actually did make her seem more grown up. When she heard the door open behind her she turned around and was also surprised.

"Felix?" she asked. She looked around a bit, "Are you... dreaming too?" she asked. What did she mean by "too"? Felix just shook it off and slowly nodded, "So you are a victim. But why aren't you..." she started, confusing Felix, "Felix, we have to get you out of here before-" there was a low growl at that moment, and Peach looked really worried, "No! Not now!" she turned to Felix with a really worried expression, "Felix, we have to run!"

"Why? What's going on?"

"I'll explain later, just come with me!" Peach demanded. Felix nodded and they began running, even though Felix had no idea what they were running from.

They ran until they reached a dead end, Peach looked up really scared.

"I was afraid of this! It did change since Mario and I explored it last!" they heard the growl again, "I wish Mario was here, then we'd have a fighting chance!"

"Mario?" Felix asked, remembering the plummer Clyde was talking to. Was he the same guy?

At that moment, those blobs appeared in the room, surrounding Felix and Peach.

"What are we going to do?" Peach asked backing away. Felix was backing away too, until he felt a sharp pain in his head. He then heard a voice in his head...

_Thou art I... and I am thou..._

When the voice stopped and Felix took his hand away from his forhead, he saw a Tarot Card in his hand. On the card, was a swordsman wearing sliver armor, and a matching knights helmet that completely covered his face, only showing the glowing yellow eyes from inside. The warrior had a red cape that was tattered, a large white shield with a golden cross on the front, and a silver sword.

Looking at it a weird feeling came over Felix. His heart was pounding, and a strange power was consuming him, but it didn't feel threatening at all, in fact, it felt _great_! Felix couldn't hold his smile in as he looked at the card.

Peach looked at Felix in shock, "No way... how did he awaken?"

Felix then heard a word in his head, and felt a need to say it and crush the card in his hand. He closed his eyes and let the feeling take over.

"Per...so...na!"

He crushed the card in his hand and was engulfed in a big golden flame. So big that Peach fell back. The warrior on the card appeared behind Felix as a spirit. At the same time a long katana appeared in Felix's hand. Peach looked up at Felix in awe as he stood there staring at the shadows, smiling almost demonically.

"Felix..."

The spirit vanished, and Felix immediately sprang into action, charging at the blobs and slashing at them, actually killing them. One blob crept up behind Felix.

"Behind you Felix!" Peach called out.

Felix turned around and slashed the blob away from him, and then held his hand up as the card slowly appeared floating above his hand.

"SIEGFRIED!" he shouted smashing the card. The warrior appeared again, but this time held his sword up above him. At that moment a lightning bolt came down on top of the blob killing it. The warrior vanished, and Felix fell to his knees in exhaustion. Peach ran up to him.

"Felix, are you okay?" Felix slowly nodded, and then actually drifted off to sleep in Peach's arms. Peach smiled looking at Felix, "See you in the morning Felix," she said softly.

When Felix opened his eyes he was actually in the Velvet Room. Igor ans Mary were still sitting in their same spots as if they hadn't moved from those places at all.

"So you've awakened to the power of Persona," Igor said calmly.

"Persona?"

"Yes, that spirit you summoned to protect that girl, that was your Persona." Mary looked up and turned to Felix.

"A Persona is a second side of your soul. It awakens in time of great peril to protect you or others around you. Some examples of a Persona being used in the real world is when you put on a tough front for others despite how afraid you truly are."

Felix realized that he did that a few times recently. Was that Siegfried?

"Don't worry," Igor said, "for although a Persona is a second side of you, it is still you. In some cases, it's the true you." Igor turned to Mary, "In most cases, a Persona is used in the way my assistant described, but quite rarely, it takes on the form of a spirit, like yours did earlier," Igor turned back to Felix, "It seems we're running out of time for this meeting, so take this," a small purple key appeared in Felix's hand, "You can use that key later to come back here. Until then, farewell."

Everything around Felix faded as the Velvet Room slowly became that of a dream.

**I hope I explained that right. As much as I love the Persona series, I was always so confused as to what a Persona actually was.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Sunday April 14, Morning

When Felix woke up in his bed, he at first thought it was a dream. That was until he looked in his lap and saw the Velvet Key. How in the world did that appear? Was this some kind of joke? Or did he actually do all of that last night?

He walked downstairs into the kitchen. Since it was Sunday there was no school, so he was in his casual attire. Karen was in the kitchen making breakfast for both of them.

"Morning sleepy head," Karen said. Felix sat down at the table, still silent. Karen looked at him concerned, "Did you have... _the _dream?" she asked. Felix juggled with telling Karen or not. They were best friends, so he decided to tell her, even though he wasn't too sure she would believe him.

"I'm not too sure if it was the same dream, but it was strange. I was in this castle, and there were these monsters. The Princess was there too, and we were both running from these creatures."

"Sounds like someone has a crush on the Princess," Karen taunted.

"No, it's not like that. Before the creatures appeared she asked me if I was dreaming, and I said yes. She then got really scared as if she knew what was going to happen." Felix took a deep breath before he continued, "We hit a dead end, and were surrounded by the creatures. Right when we had given up hope, I heard this deep voice saying 'thou art I, and I am thou', and then this card appeared in my hand. I crushed the card and summoned something called a Persona. After that I was able to defeat the monsters."

Karen put a plate of food in front of Felix and sat down next to him with her plate, "Are you sure this really happened? How can two people have the same dream?"

"I don't know, but explain this," Felix then put the Velvet Key on he table. Karen looked at it in confusion and fear, "I was given this key in the dream last night, but I woke up with it in my lap this morning? You helped me unpack, so you'd remember seeing this key, right?" Karen nodded slowly, "And did I have anytime to buy a key like this after school?" Karen shook her head, now getting scared, "Exactly. So how did I get this key?"

"I don't-" the doorbell rang that moment, shocking Felix and Karen out of their moment, "I'll get that Felix. It's probably just some girl scouts selling cookies." Felix nodded and Karen walked off to get the door. Felix looked at the key.

"Igor... just who are you?" he asked. Karen then gasped loudly, catching Felix's attention.

"F, F, Felix! It's-" she was cut off suddenly when the person apparently walked past her inside. Felix looked up and saw Princess Peach walk into the kitchen, but this time she was wearing the pink gown from the dream and she was with the plummer in red Clyde was talking to. Felix wondered if this was Mario.

"Hello Felix," Peach said with a smile. Felix nodded in response. "Do you remember the dream you had?"

"Quite vividly," Felix replied. Karen ran in and looked at everyone in the room in shock.

"So, the dream you told me about, was true?" the plummer in red looked at Karen, and then at Felix.

"You told her?" he asked.

"She's my best friend. Besides, I didn't know it was such a secret."

The plummer looked at Felix in a challenging manner. Felix could tell that they were going to get along "great".

"It's fine Mario. I told you, remember?" Peach asked.

"That was different-"

"Was it? I was scared, so I decided to tell my best friend. He did the same. Besides, had I not told you, you would have still been trapped there yourself."

"So, he was a victim as well?" Felix asked.

"Yes, Mario fell victim to the dreams, but I freed him before it got too serious. That was when he awakened."

"Awakened?" Felix asked.

"To the power, of Persona." Peach explained, shocking Karen.

"So it was true. Then, what are the dreams?" Karen asked.

"Those "dreams" are actually a parallel dimension. The people that fall into coma are actually trapped in that world," Mario explained.

"So, what's the name of yours?" Felix asked Mario.

"My Persona? It's Abel, yours?"

"Siegfried."

Mario and Felix just stared at each other, as if they were challenging each other. Both Karen and Peach were worried.

"Um, Felix? Are you okay?" Karen asked.

"So, what can you tell me about the other world?" Felix asked, ignoring Karen's question.

"Not much, that's why we're investigating it. What about you? What can you tell me?" Mario asked, shocking Peach.

"Mario, you aren't thinking he's involved, are you?" Peach asked.

"Why not? You told me yourself that he awakened on his own. How do we know that he didn't already have a Persona, and that he didn't trap those other twelve people in the dream world?"

"I saw him myself. He's innocent Mario!" Peach pleaded.

"Not to mention I just moved here from Rose City three days ago? These incidents have been going on for how long now?"

Mario stepped down, but he kept eyeing Felix. Peach walked up to Felix.

"I'm sorry about Mario, he gets a little over protective of me."

"It's okay, but how are you involved in this?"

Peach looked down seriously, "I don't have a Persona, but I'm able to go into that world. Sometime it's by will, but sometimes, like last night, I'm pulled there."

"How long has this been going on?" Karen asked.

"Since the first incident, about a year ago," that shocked Felix.

"This has been going on for a year?" he asked.

"There's a new victim every month. The boy two days ago was the victim for this month," Mario explained.

"If Mario and I had known, then we could have saved him," Peach said in sadness, "But I don't always know who's dreaming, and I only know who the victim is right before the shadows claim them."

Felix thought for a second, and then looked at Peach, "Is there a way to save them?"

"Yes, but we only have one night to do so. After that night they victim is trapped by their own dreams," Peach explained.

"Dreams, what do you mean?" Karen asked.

"The people trapped in the dream world don't know that it's real, and they don't know that the shadows are trapping them. The only person besides me who can travel through the dream world consciously and fight the shadows is someone with a Persona," Peach explained, she then turned to Mario, "Mario and I have been doing everything we can, but since I can't use a Persona Mario doesn't have anyone helping him, and I'm afraid that the shadows are getting stronger."

Felix looked down and closed his eyes, thinking. He then remembered Igor's words...

_It seems that you'll sign a contract of sorts in your future..._

Was helping Princess Peach the contract Igor was talking about? He knew that the moment he offered to help, he would have to see it through till the end, so that was sort of like a contract. Also he was only staying for the year, meaning there was a time limit, and a year wasn't that long if it was active.

"Mario can't do it all alone, and I don't know who else I can ask. The only other Persona user in the Mushroom Kingdom is you, Felix. I don't want to ask you to endanger your life..."

"You won't have to," Felix said, "Because I volunteer." Everyone looked at Felix in shock.

"Felix!" Karen said.

"But you just moved here!" Peach shook her head, "No, I can't allow it."

"You said it yourself that Mario can't do it alone, and I'm the only other Persona user in the kingdom. I'm already involved, so I have to see this through till the end."

Peach thought to herself, and then turned to Mario, who nodded. Peach then smiled at Felix, "Felix, thank you. With your help I think we can figure out this mystery. All I ask is that you not tell anyone else about this."

"Got it," Felix said, then turned to Karen.

"Don't worry, I won't tell a soul," she said.

Peach nodded, and then turned to leave, "In order to enter the dream world, all you have to do is focus on your Persona when you sleep. Do you think you can meet Mario and I there tonight?" Felix nodded, "Great, see you tonight," she looked at Mario, "Let's go Mario."

Mario nodded, and they both left. Karen turned to Felix and looked down in fear.

"Felix, I'm worried about you doing this. I don't want you to be in any danger."

Felix put a hand on Karen's arm, "I'll be alright. Besides, that Mario guy looks pretty strong, I think it's going to be okay."

"Well, if your sure..." Karen said, she then looked at Felix, "We probably shouldn't mention this to Dad either. I mean, we don't know if he knows about Mario's connection to Princess Peach." Felix nodded in agreement, "I think I need to be alone for a little while, I'm going to finish breakfast upstairs." Karen then walked over to her plate and took it upstairs. Felix finished his breakfast and then went into the backyard.

Outside he looked at the Velvet Key again, wishing he could see Igor. At that moment the Key began glowing. Next to the back door of the house a purple door appeared. It was a double door that looked like it was part of an old train. Felix approached it, and saw what looked like a key hole on the left door. He then heard Igor's voice...

_So, the time has come. Now then, if I may have a moment of your time..._

Felix put the key in the door and opened it. There was a white flash and Felix found himself in the Velvet Room.

"Now the contract has been signed. Allow me to explain our place in this. In this room, we can make new Personas for you by fusing the Personas you collect in your journey." Felix was confused, he was under the impression that everyone only had one Persona, "You see, in most cases, people only have one Persona. You, however, are different. You're power is that of the wild card. It's like the number 0, empty, yet possesing infinit potential. When you recieve new Personas, you can bring them here, and we shall turn them into more powerful Personas."

Felix understood a bit, but why was he so special? Mary looked up next.

"As you form relationships in the real world, they will offer power as you make Personas. Please keep this in mind."

That didn't make much sense to Felix, but he nodded all the same.

"The next time you come into this Velvet Room, it shall be of your own free will," Igor chuckled, "I look forward to it."

Everything went white, and Felix found himself back in Karen's backyard. He looked up at the sky, thinking about everything that happened in the last few days. He was only coming here for classes, and he ended up getting involved in something huge. He was now even more resolved to help Princess Peach.


	5. Chapter 5

**Even though this is marked as a Mario and Persona crossover, I added a character from another game genre in order to not only balance out the characters, but also this character just seemed to match the setting.**

Chapter 5

That night Felix was lying in his bed thinking about what Peach had told him. So all he had to do was go to sleep thinking about Siegfried, right? If this worked, then where would he end up? Deciding not to read too much into it he closed his eyes and let the image of the tarot card fill his mind's eye. As he drifted off, the card became more and more clear, until he could see the card as if it were real. The card then turned into a door, that opened revealing a bright white light.

When the light cleared Felix found himself in a plaza of some sort. It looked really old fashioned, and had a fountain in the center. Felix looked up ahead and saw a giant tower that looked at least 300 stories tall with a big glowing door in the front. Mario and Peach were waiting for him. As he walked over to the tower Mario looked at Felix.

"I see you made it. So, what do you think?" Mario asked. Felix looked around in amazement.

"It really is another world," he said.

"We call this area the Central Plaza, because it seems that it lies at the center of everyone's dreams," Peach explained, "Everytime you decide to come to this place, you'll end up here first."

"What about that?" Felix asked, referring to the tower.

"That?" Mario started, "We don't know what that is, really. But we do know that the Shadows seem to come from inside. Sort of like a nest."

"We're trying to explore the tower, but everytime we go inside the format changes. There is an elevator next to the stairs, but we don't know how to get it to work. We're kind of stuck on the first floor," Peach explained looking down.

"But now that you have two Persona users, you should be able to go a little higher," Felix stated, showing that he understood.

Peach smiled hopefully, "I'm glad you understand the situation, Felix. We shouldn't waste anymore time then," Peach turned to Mario, "Let's go."

Mario nodded and turned to Felix, "I hope you know how to use your dream weapon," Mario said summoning an interesting weapon. They were brass knuckles, only there was a blade on the outside lining his knuckles.

Felix smirked and thought of the katana he used before. A second later the katana appeared in his hand. Mario raised an eyebrow.

"Glad to see I won't have to babysit you in there," Mario said walking inside. Felix chuckled and walked after him, Peach right behind him. Unknown to them, someone was floating above them, watching them.

Felix recognized the inside of the tower instantly. It was the place he was in last night.

"Felix," Peach started, "Do you recognize this place?" Felix nodded in response. Mario looked at them in surprise.

"He's been here before?" Mario asked.

"Yes, this was where I found him," Peach said. She then looked at Mario seriously, "That doesn't mean that he's the one behind this."

"I didn't say it did," Mario sai, even though it was clear that he was thinking it.

They were exploring the tower for what felt like hours, and Felix was curious as to why he hadn't heard his alarm clock, or why Mario and Peach weren't concerned with the time. They did have school in the morning.

"Hey, how much longer can we stay here?" Felix asked.

"We can stay here for as long as we need to," Mario explained, shocking Felix a bit.

"How does that work? Doesn't time still pass in our world?"

"It does," Peach said, "But we're not in our world. In this world, time passes differently. It won't be morning until we wake up."

Felix thought that was weird, but he left it alone. Even though it didn't make sense, it meant that they didn't have to keep track of time. Maybe it was always night here.

They heard a low growl, and Mario stood in front of Peach defending her.

"Looks like they're here," Mario said.

"The Shadows?" Felix asked.

"Yep, get ready!" Mario said as Felix stood next to him. Two of those blob Shadows appeared in front of them. Mario charged up to one and began punching at it. He didn't even summon his Persona yet. Felix ran up to the other one and was slashing a it. Thankfully Peach was safe, as there was only two for now.

Mario stepped back as a tarot card appeared in front of him, "Persona!" he shouted as he punched the card shattering it. His Persona looked lika a farmer with long brown hair wearing brown pants, a red shirt, brown boots, and had a plow in his hand. He also had one angel wing, the left one. This was Abel of the Justice Arcana.

Abel slammed his plow on the Shadow hard, killing it instantly.

Felix held up his hand as his tarot card appeared, "Persona!" he said crushing the card. Siegfried appeared in front of him and slashed at the Shadow in front of them killing it. Peach ran up to them.

"Are you two okay?" she asked them.

"I'm fine," Mario said. He then turned to Felix, "You're pretty good in a fight," he said with a slight smirk, "just don't expect them all to be that easy." Felix nodded in response.

As the three of them proceeded further up, they continued to fight the Shadows. They ran into a number of different Shadows of all types. Eventually they made it to the 5th floor, where they saw a large shadow that looked like an armored man riding on an armored horse, only the horse didn't have a body, just armor.

Peach stepped back as Felix and Mario got in fighting stances.

"That's a big one," Mario stated.

"I've never seen one this strong," Peach said, "They must get stronger on the higher levels."

The Shadow rushed at Felix and Mario and attempted to tackle them. Felix grabbed Peach and the three of them jumped out of the way.

Mario's Tarot Card appeared in front of him, "Let's go, Abel!" Mario said punching his card. Abel appeared and slammed his plow on the Shadow, doing heavy damage. The Shadow turned to Mario and stabbed him with it's lance, knocking him back.

"Mario!" Peach shouted. Felix jumped up and rushed at the Shadow. As soon as he reached the shadow though, it slashed at him knocking him into a wall.

"Felix!" Peach shouted looking at Felix, who was seriosuly hurt. She looked up and saw the Shadow approaching her. Peach backed away in fear.

"Peach...!" Mario said as he struggled to get up. Felix held up his hand as his card appeared.

"SIEGFRIED!" he said as he crushed the card. Felix's Persona, which seemed to respond to the ugency in his heart, rushed at the Shadow and began fighting the Shadow close quarter, but the Shadow did a powerful stabbing attack making Siegfried disperse. It then turned back to Peach, who was backed into a wall now.

"Damn it!" Mario shouted, "None of our attacks are working!"

"If Peach gets hurt down here, what happens to her in the real world?" Felix asked.

"Injuries don't follow you into the real world exactly, but you do feel weaker if your hurt! Also, if you die here, then you die in the real world as well!" Mario explained, "All in all, it's bad!"

Hearing this scared Felix even more. They had to save Peach, but there was no way they could get to her in time.

At that moment, they heard what sounded like a flute, and it was playing a very happy tune. Even the Shadow noticed it. Suddenly, something flew past the Shadow and grabbed Peach. When Peach took a good look, she saw what looked like a jester of some sort with big blue eyes, wearing a white jacket, purple pants and shoes, white gloves, and a purple hat. The jester like creature softly set Peach down near Felix.

"Thank you," Peach said to the jester, who bowed elegantly to her. It then rushed at the Shadow, flying circles around it, also leaving an unusual dust behind. When the dust hit the Shadow, it looked like he Shadow was paralyzed.

"Now!" the jester said in a high voice that was impossible to tell the gender of, "Finish it!"

Felix nodded and looked at Mario, both preparing to summon their Personas.

"Let's go, Abel!" Mario shouted.

"SIEGFRIED!" Felix shouted.

Both of their Personas rushed at the Shadow and attacked it. The Shadow, unable to defend itself, dispersed.

Mario breathed a sigh of relief, and then turned o Felix, who gave him a thumbs up. Peach then ran into Felix and embraced him happily.

"You're safe!" she said hugging Felix. She then stepped back looking down, "I was so worried. I thought that I was going to loose you," she looked like she was holding back tears. Mario walked up to them.

"Are you alright, Princess?" Mario asked.

"I'm fine, Mario," she sounded a little less enthusiastic with Mario. They all looked up and saw the jester floating over them, playing an invisible flute. The jester looked down at them, and then floated over to them.

"You three don't look like Shadows," the jester said.

"That's because we're not. We're people from another world," Peach began, "I'm Princess Peach. This is Mario, and Felix."

"I see," the jester said, "You must be from the Waking World," he or she said, since none of them could tell whether the creature with them was male or female.

"Um, who and what are you?" Mario asked.

"How rude of me," the jester bowed to them, "I'm Nights," the jester said.

"That doesn't tell us what you are! And further more, are you male, or female?" Mario asked.

"Mario, don't be rude!" Peach scolded. Nights looked like he or she was thinking.

"Male...? Female...? I don't know anything about that. Nights is just Nights. I live here."

"Then you're a Shadow!" Mario said getting in a fighting stance.

"Mario, no!" Peach shouted.

"This thing said it lived here, and the only things that lives here are Shadows," Mario stated.

Felix was looking at this situation taking everything in. He looked at Nights and "his" mannerisms, since Nights seemed to be elegant in a gentleman's sort of way. He also took in the fact that Shadows were capable of working together, so if Nights were a Shadow, then he'd have attacked them too, and he saved Peach. Sense this was about to get ugly he stepped forward.

"He isn't going to hurt us," Felix said, shocking Mario.

"How can you be so sure?"

"Mario," Peach said walking forward, "Nights saved my life. I don't think... 'he' has bad intentions for us."

"Then why was 'he' following us?" Mario asked.

"I was curious," Nights said, "You three were the first people I saw from the Waking World who were moving freely."

"Moving freely? What do you mean?" Peach asked.

"Every so often someone comes into this world and makes it bigger. Those people are in a weird trance, and the Shadows are attracted to them. After a while the people disappear, and the Shadows leave the new place."

"The people in our world, or Waking World as you call it, fall into comas after having a dream about a purple sky and silver moon," Peach explained.

"By the way, how are you able to come here?" Nights asked, "That's awfully suspicious to me."

"Oh shut up!" Mario shot, "You're the most suspicious thing here!"

"I live here. You're the one invading my world!"

"Mario, please," Peach said pulling Mario aside and then waking up to Nights, "We're trying to figure out why people keep falling into this world. Would you be willing to be our guide here whenever we come here?"

"It would be my honor," Nights said bowing to Peach, he then turned to Felix, "Hey, I'm only taking orders from you and the pretty one, got it?"

"And why single them out?" Mario asked.

"Well, you take orders from the pretty one, the other guy is the calmest, and I don't like you," Nights said flying around Mario in a taunting manner, and then flew off to the elevator.

"Why you!" Mario shouted. Peach and Felix laughed at him. As they laughed, Felix felt a small bond forming between he three of them. It felt different than anything he had ever felt, like he would get stronger from just having this bond. He then heard a voice sound in his head...

_Thou art I and I am thou..._

_Thou hast established a new bond..._

_Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Fool Arcana..._

Felix remembered Mary mentioning something about relationships making his Personas stronger, did she mean this? He originally planned on spending most of his time just hanging out with Karen, but now he couldn't afford to spend this entire year with just one person. He decided it was best to start getting to know people tomorrow at school.

Felix walked over to the elevator and pulled the switch next to the door activating it. The elevator came up and the door opened. Felix, Mario, Peach, and Nights went inside. The door closed and the elevator actually went down. When it stopped they were on the first floor.

"So, the elevator has to be activated from the higher floors," Felix said.

"That's not very useful," Mario said rolling his eyes.

"But if we can use the elevator to go back up to the fifth floor then that'll make exploration easier," Peach said. They all walked over to the exit of the Clock Tower. Once outside a silver door appeared on the back end of the Central Plaza.

"Is that?" Felix asked.

"Yes, going through that door and you'll wake up back in your bed," Peach explained.

"What time will it be when I wake up?" Felix asked.

"That depends on when you went to sleep," Peach said, "You'll always wake up about eight hours after you went to sleep."

Which meant he would probably wake up at about five or six o'clock. Good thing he wouldn't be late for school. He wondered how he would feel when he woke up. Would he be relaxed, or would he still be tired?

Mario walked up to the door, "Princess, I'll see you in the... Waking World..." Mario said going through the door, disappearing in a white light. Suddenly Felix understood a little more of how it worked. The light was probably there to wake them up.

"The door doesn't appear until we've been here for what we percieve as an hour," Peach said catching Felix's attention, "And it only appears if we're here at the time. That's why it didn't appear until after we exited he Clock Tower," Felix nodded hearing this and watched Peach walk up to the door, "See you in school, Felix. Thanks again for helping us."

Peach walked through the door and vanished. Right before Felix could walk through, Nights flew in front of him.

"Hey, Felix right?" Nights asked, prompting Felix to nod, "You're alright. You didn't even know who I was and yet you defended me. Thanks." Felix nodded and smiled. For some reason he was really fond of this funny creature. "You'll come back, right?" Nights asked, Felix nodded again, "Great. I'm holding you to that," and with that Nights flew off. Felix watched him fly for a second, and then opened the door himself and walked through. The light seemed to blend in with the brightness in Felix's room, and then his vison got clearer, showing that he had opened his eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Monday April 15, Morning

_...lix..._

_...elix..._

"Felix!" Karen's frantic voice was heard. Felix woke up and sat up in his bed, Karen siting next to his bed looking at him in fear.

"Karen? What's wrong?" Felix asked. Karen then broke down and buried her face in Felix's covers crying.

"Felix, I was so worried! I came in to wake you up for breakfast, but you didn't wake up! I thought you had fallen into that other world, and I would never see you again!"

"Karen..." Felix put his hand on Karen's shoulder. He hated that he worried her so much, but Princess Peach was counting on him now.

After eating breakfast Felix and Karen walked to school together. The walk was silent, and Felix could tell that Karen was really tense.

"So, what was it like in there?" Karen asked finally.

"It didn't feel like a dream, that's for sure," Felix explained making Karen turn to him.

"So, you felt like you were really there?"

"I think I was. I couldn't even wake up unless I went through this big silver door at the main area, and that didn't appear until later."

Karen looked scared hearing this, "So, you were trapped in there?" Karen asked.

"I don't think I was trapped. The door always appears, so I'll always be able to get out." It took a minute for him to realize that Karen had stopped walking. He turned to Karen, who was looking down and trembling.

"Felix, I don't like you doing this," she said softly, "What happens if you get hurt in that other world? Can you die in there?" she asked. When Felix remained silent she ran up to him and looked right in his eyes in fear, "Tell me! Can you die in that other world?" Felix looked down, and nodded. Karen was done at that point, "Felix! Why would you do something like this?"

"I don't know, maybe because I have power. Maybe because Princess Peach is counting on me. Maybe because I want to make sure that someone I care about doesn't end up like the other twelve people in comas!" Felix said in defense.

"But you just got here! Out of everyone else in the kingdom, why does it have to be you?"

"I don't know why me, but it is me. I have to do this now. I'm sorry, Karen," Felix said urning back to school and walking off. Karen stood there still trembling. She ran after Felix. Unknown to them, Peach was standing behind them listening to their arguement, suddenly feeling guilty.

In Felix's classroom, Felix was sitting at his desk reading a book. Peach walked into the classroom and threw everyone in the classroom a curveball when she walked over to Felix.

"Felix," she started, "Could I talk to you privately at lunch?" she asked, making everyone gasp in shock.

"Sure thing," Felix responded, making everyone gasp again. Peach sat next Felix and class started. While the teacher began the lecture, he students were gossiping behind them.

"I wonder what that new kid did. I bet he offended her in some way," one girl said.

"She didn't look angry at him though," her friend responded.

"Still, I wonder what's up. Why would Her Majesty want to spend time with him?"

Hearing this made Peach feel a little uncomfortable. She knew that confronting Felix out in the open would attract attention, but she had to speak to Felix, and she knew that if she didn't get ahold of him, he would just go with Karen, and she was a part of why she had to talk to Felix.

Morning/Lunch Time

Felix was standing outside he classroom waiting for Peach. After a few seconds, she walked out he classroom.

"Thank you for waiting for me," Peach said sweetly, "Could we talk outside, just the two of us?" she asked. Felix nodded and the two of them walked out together. They stopped in the school yard in front of the school, Peach with her back turned to Felix.

"Felix, you shouldn't be involved in this," she said sadly, shocking Felix, "What Mario and I are doing is dangerous, and you could get really hurt. Karen really cares about you, and she would hate me if anything happened to you in the dream world. Also, I'd never forgive myself. It wasn't fair of me to involve you in this, so I'm letting you forget all of this."

"What if I don't want to forget?" Felix asked, making Peach turn around.

"But what about your friend? Karen seemed really upset."

"It's going to take some getting used to, and she's upset because she tried to wake me up while I was in the dream world. I know that this is going to be dangerous. Mario told me that if I die in the dream world I die in the real world also."

"If you know about this, then why are you so willing to help us? Anyone else would run far away after hearing that, so why?"

Felix had to think about that. Truth was here was a few reasons. One being that he wanted to help the Mushroom Kingdom. Another reason was because after Igor's words he just felt that he had to do this. He also wanted Karen to be safe, and knew that she would end up being a victim if he didn't do something. In the end though, he settled on one reason.

"I want to help _you_," he said, making Peach's face turn red a bit.

"M, me?" she asked, suddenly her heart racing.

"You always seem so depressed, and I feel like part of it is because you're carrying this burden on your own. I don't think that's all of it, but if I can lessen the burden by fighting for you then I'll fight as hard as I can."

"Felix..." Peach was really touched hearing all of this, "Thank you so much. I'm so happy that I met you," she then hugged Felix. As Felix returned the gesture, he felt a strong bond forming between him and Peach.

"!"

_Thou are I and I am thou..._

_Thou hast established a new bond..._

_Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Moon Arcana..._

So, just like when he was in the dream world, he figured he recieved a new bond, which for some reason he felt like calling a Social Link. Back then it was the Fool Social Link, this time it was the Moon Social Link though. He wondered how this worked. He was the Fool Arcana, and he figured that Mario was the Justice Arcana. He couldn't form a Social Link with himself, so that explained the Fool Social Link. Did this mean Princess Peach was of the Moon Arcana? Either way, this meant he was officially friends with her, and he had every intention of taking advantage of this.

Everyone who saw the two of them hugging like that was shocked. Karen saw too unfortunately, and she wasn't happy at all. In fact, she was strangely hurt, and above all, scared.

"Felix... why? You're my friend... Right...?"

Lunch time/After School

Felix walked out of the classroom with Princess Peach next to him. Of course everyone was watching them, but they weren't paying attention to them. They saw Karen waiting for them outside. The second she turned and saw Felix with Peach, she frowned a bit.

"Hey, Karen," Felix started, "Think it would be okay if the Princess walked with us halfway home?"

"Why? If she comes with us won't that attract attention?" Karen asked with the slighest contempt.

"I attract attention no matter where I go. And I figured since Felix is going to be helping us, we should probably get to know each other a little better."

"I don't see why not," Karen sighed. Felix thought the way she was acting was weird, but he decided to let it go for now. They talked about a lot of things, and Felix learned a lot about both Peach and Karen. Apparently Karen started taking archery lessons a year ago, and Peach fenced in her free time. After they reached about the halfway point, they went their separate ways, Mario seen in the distance where Peach was walking. Karen walked ahead of Felix, who ran after his childhood friend.

"Hey Karen, is everything okay?" Felix asked.

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?"

"Well, from what happened earlier this morning-"

"I'm not mad," Karen said suddenly, making Felix stop, "You'll do what you want in this situation. I understand," Karen said, seemingly leaving it at that. Felix was never one to pester anyone, and he wasn't about to start now.

After School/Evening

Clyde was sitting on the couch reading a newspaper.

"Welcome home," he said with a smile. Karen immediately went into the kitchen without saying anything. Felix decided to take sometime to study in his room. As he studied he felt like his intelligence increased.

**I'm debating how to portray the social link system with the other characters. In Persona you can get a girlfriend, but I'm not sure who I want Felix to end up with. If you guys have any tips then let me know.**


	7. Chapter 7

**I'm writing this along side Star Force Zero 3, so I'll probably alternate between the two. I hope that this story holds true to the Persona feel. This is the hardest story I've ever written, so please be kind.**

**Finally, I've found a theme song for this story. Before the Dawn by Evanescence. To get a feel for what the tone for this story I want to be.**

Chapter 07

~Tuesday April 16, After School

Felix's classes had just ended, and he was wondering what he should do with the rest of the day. He walked through the school until he saw Mario talking with another plumber. This one was wearing attire similar to Mario's, only he was wearing green instead of red. His hat had a green L on it, and while he was slightly taller than Mario, since he was thinner it was clear that Mario was older. Curious as to what they were talking about, Felix decided to go over to them.

"Now, as her defense we have to stay vigilant. We can't follow her everywhere, but we have to keep an eye on her in areas like the cafeteria, and the school yard," Mario explained. The other plumber saluted.

"Got it."

"Now don't screw this up! Her father is counting on us!"

"I got it, I got it," the other plumber said sighing in frustration. He turned around and walked off, "Sheesh. It's not like she's going to get attacked here in the school."

Mario watched him walk off, and shook his head. Felix watched Mario for a second, and he had to agree with the green plumber to a degree. He understood that Mario was Peach's guard, but it seemed like he was being a bit over protective. Felix was curious as to why he was like that, but he and Mario weren't really that close, so he couldn't just come out and ask him.

He then remembered what happened yesterday when he started the Moon Social Link. Ever since then he felt a little stronger whenever he thought of Peach. Could the same thing happen with Mario too? Figuring this was a good time to stike up a friendship with Mario, he walked over to him.

"Oh, Felix," Mario said once Felix stood next to him. There was an awkward silence between them for a few seconds, but then Mario finally spoke, "I'm assuming you saw who I was talking to, right?" Felix nodded, "He's my younger brother, Luigi. He's not very dependable, but someone has to train him." Mario sounded a little annoyed at that statement. Felix got the impression that he and Luigi must not have been all that close. "Hey, are you busy right now? I've been meaning to talk to you about something." Felix still felt like he was neglecting Karen, but if Mario wanted to talk to him then it must have been important, so he shook his head. "Great. Let's go into town."

Once they got to town, Mario took Felix to a small bar actually. Felix was sitting waiting for Mario, who had went to get them drinks.

"Here. I got you a Sprite. I hope you don't mind that I brought you here. I know you're still a kid, but..."

"I don't mind," Felix replied, now curious as to what Mario got for himself. Felix took his drink as Mario sat down next to him. Once he did Felix could smell Mario's drink, shocked to see that it was a beer. "I didn't know you drank," Felix said, catching Mario's attention.

"Oh, yeah. I don't normally, but whenever I have a lot on my mind..." when Felix was silent for a few seconds, Mario looked down seriously, "Don't get the wrong idea about me. I'm no alcoholic. I just need something to take the edge off." Mario sighed, and Felix could tell that something was bothering him.

"What's wrong?"

"Heh, you could tell, huh?" Mario smiled slightly, "The night you joined us, the Princess did something that she never did to me before. She yelled at me." Felix was surprised hearing that. Why did that happen? "I don't know what happened. She and I used to be really close, but ever since the dreams began..." Mario sighed again.

"What is your relationship?"

"Why? Are you jealous?" Mario joked, "Don't worry. She and I aren't romantic or anything. She's too young anyway. I've been protecting her ever since she was a child. She sees me as more of a big brother. She trusts me, or, at least she did. I feel like we're drifting apart." Mario turned to Felix, "She talks about you a lot, how you make her happy. What is it that you do?"

Felix didn't know how to answer that. What did he do that was different? He thought about it for a little while, and rather than telling Mario that he didn't know...

"I just treat her like a real person."

Mario was clearly confused by that statement, "Like a real person?" Mario looked up, "Felix, you're alright. I'll be honest, I was worried about the Princess getting close to you, but now I see that you're a good person."

Felix nodded. As they continued their drinks in silence, Felix felt a strong bond form between him and Mario.

"!"

_Thou art I and I am thou..._

_Thou hast established a new bond..._

_Thou shalt be blessed when creating Persona's of the Justice Arcana..._

Felix accomplished what he wanted. Now Mario trusted Felix a bit, but this Social Link felt different than the one with Peach. That Social Link felt like it could become something more, like his friendship with her could go in two differnt directions. This one felt more focused, as if it was destined to go in one direction. Felix didn't think anything of it. He stayed with Mario for a little while longer, and then decided to go home.

-After School/Evening-

Once he got back to Karen's place, he noticed that Clyde wasn't home.

"Hey Felix," Karen said softly walking out of the kitchen, "Princess Peach stopped by earlier. She was wondering if you could call her when you got home. Her phone number is on the refrigerator." Felix nodded and walked up to Karen.

"Are you okay?" Felix asked.

"Yeah Felix, I'm fine. You should call her before it's too late." Karen said coldly. Felix nodded and then went over to the refrigerator. "First she puts Felix in danger, and now she forces her way into his life? Who does she think she is?"

Felix went into his room and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed the phone number, and the phone was answered almost instantly. Was she waiting for his call?

"Felix?" Peach asked.

"Yeah, it's me." Felix could almost hear Peach smile on the other end.

"I'm glad you called. I was worried that Karen might not have given you the number. I don't think she likes me very much."

"Karen's one of the friendliest people I know. Don't worry, I'm sure she's fine," but even as he said it, he wasn't sure.

"I hope so. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you for a few reasons. First of all, so I could tell you about going into the Dream World. Since the Shadows are dangerous, I don't think it's a good idea to go by ourselves. We should only go into the Dream World if we all can go, so be sure to call ahead of time." Felix was wondering about how they would go about that. Sure, it was a good idea to train there sometimes, and they needed to explore the Clock Tower, but he didn't want to go there just to find out that no one else had the same idea and then be stuck there alone.

"In that case, I was thinking about going there either tonight or tomorrow night."

"I think we should wait till tomorrow night. Mario hasn't come back yet, and since he's the only other Persona User we have it would be dangerous. I'm not even to sure about going any further until we get another Persona User."

Peach raised a valid point. But Mario was still out? Felix hoped he wasn't drinking himself to a stupor. But Felix was also curious as to how they would get other Persona Users.

"How do we find other people who can use Personas?" Felix asked.

"To be honest, I don't know. I've been wondering that myself. I saved Mario from a dream before he got too far deep, and I still don't know how you got your Persona, so I'm afraid I don't have an answer to your question."

Felix was annoyed at that, but he let it go. After all, Peach was as clueless as he was, she had just been doing this longer than he had.

"The second reason I called," Peach continued, "Was to ask if you ever wanted to hang out after school. You know, just the two of us..." her voice trailed off at that last statement.

"You mean, like a date?" Felix asked, clearly making Peach blush on the other side.

"Wh, what? Um, well... maybe not quite a... date... but it would be nice if... we could..." Peach finally caught herself and regained her composure, "Besides, you're the only person in my life who makes me feel less like the Princess, and more like a girl. If you think it's strange, then..."

"I don't have a problem with it."

"Really? So you don't mind being in public with me?"

"To be honest, half of me sees it as an honor, but the other half just wants to make you smile."

"You do make me smile," Peach said, almost lovingly, "I'm so glad that you came to the Mushroom Kingdom." Peach apparently caught what she said and started stammering a bit, "I should probably let you go now. We do have class tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."

"Good night, Felix," Peach said hanging up. Since she didn't ask for his number, Felix assumed that she probably had caller ID. Most cell phones did, and it was clear that he called her cell phone. He decided tomorrow he would try to spend some time with Karen if he could.

~Wednesday April 17, Morning

Felix ran up to Karen, who was walking ahead of him in a huff of sorts.

"Hey, Karen, are you busy today after school? Because I was wondering-"

"I have archery today after school," Karen shot at Felix. At this point Felix was sure something was wrong.

"Karen-"

"I'll be home a little late, so you'll have to fend for yourself tonight."

Okay, so now you're dodging the subject, Felix thought. Karen then turned and walked off to class. What was Felix going to do? Was he and Karen's friendship going to be destroyed over this whole thing with the dream world? He decided to go on to class and think about it later.

-Morning/After School-

Felix got up from his seat and stood next to his desk, thinking about what he was going to do now. With Karen going to her archery classes that put an end to whatever he had planned. He eventually decided to go look for Peach, if she was still at school.

He walked through the halls until he saw two girls talking. They were in his class so they might know where she was. He went over to them and asked them if they knew if she left.

"Why do you want to know?" one girl asked.

"Someone has to protect her from creeps like you. We're not telling you anything," the other girl said.

Felix then realized that he wasn't going to get help from any of the other students. He might not find Peach today, he began thinking. As he walked around the school, he saw Luigi mopping the floor of the school. So he was assigned to school janitor? It made sense, Felix thought. With a job like that he would definitely be able to keep an eye on Peach. He decided to ask him if he had seen Peach, so he went up to him.

"Oh, you're Princess Peach's friend, Felix right?" Luigi asked. Felix nodded and explained to Luigi what just happened with the other girls. "Yeah," Luigi began, "I know what you mean. They think they're doing her a service, and all they're doing is making her uncomfortable. I'm Luigi, by the way," Luigi held out his hand, "It's nice to finally meet you." Boy, this guy sure is easy going, Felix thought as he shook Luigi's hand. Almost the exact opposite of his brother. Felix wondered if Luigi knew about the strange dreams.

"What do you think about the dreams everyone have been having?" Felix asked.

"It sounds scary to me. A dream that makes people fall into comas? We've had some crazy incidents here in the Mushroom Kingdom, but this is just insane. I hope it doesn't happen to me." Hearing him talk gave Felix the impression that Luigi didn't know about the dreams. He decided not to say anything else about it, so instead asked Luigi where Peach was. "Oh, that's right. If she hasn't left yet she's probably in front of the school. She usually sits on the steps there and reads. She should still be there. This is her day where she hangs out." Felix thanked Luigi, who just smiled sheepishly, "Don't mention it. Any friend of hers is a friend of mine. I'll be seeing you."

Felix left Luigi, feeling really good actually. Maybe one day he and Luigi could hang out. Felix followed Luigi's directions, happy to see that he was right. Peach was still outside, right where Luigi said she was.

"Oh, hi Felix," Peach said happily. From the way she was looking at him it was clear that she wasn't doing anything at the moment.

"Are you busy right now?" Felix asked.

"No, not at all. Why? Did you want to... maybe... go somewhere?" she asked slowly, prompting Felix to nod. Peach smiled brightly, "Okay! Let's go Felix!" she said springing right up.

Felix took Peach to a pizza shop in town. He was surprised to find out that he and Peach actually liked the same pizza, mushroom and pepperoni combo. While they waited for their pizza, Felix decided to take this chance to get to know Peach better.

"So, why did you decide to go to Redshroom High?" Felix asked.

"Well, I was home schooled for most of my childhood, but I wanted to get out of the castle and taste real life. My dad was against it at first, but he eventually came around, once Mario said he would get a job as school janitor."

"I thought he was a plumber."

"Oh, he is. That's just one of his many jobs at the school. Now that Luigi's working there too, I guess Mario can rest a bit."

"So, will they take turns or something?" Felix asked.

"I think so. Like, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays Luigi will be there, and on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, Mario will be there."

Felix thought it was a nice system they had there, and now that he knew when Luigi and Mario would be there, he could decide when he would talk to Mario after school and when he could get to know Luigi. The pizza came at that moment, and Peach's eyes lit up.

"It smells wonderful!" Peach said. It was clear that she was having a great time. As Felix watched her he almost forgot she was a princess. This confirmed what he originally thought, inside she was just a regular seventeen year old girl.

They ate their pizza together and talked about pretty much everything, well, Peach did most of the talking. Truth is, once Felix got to know Peach, he realized that she was quite the chatter box once she was comfortable. He thought it was cute; it gave her depth as a person. He loved the way she said everything so clearly, and how her lips moved as she spoke. Also, she didn't sound as soft spoken, more open. By the time she finished she had already talked about four different things.

They left the pizza shop (after Peach had two more slices, shocking Felix a bit with her appetite) and were walking off together, when the two girls from before were seen walking up to them.

"Hey, new kid," one girl said, "We know what you're trying to do and you need to stop it!"

"She's way bigger than you, city boy! So don't get too comfortable being next to her!" the other girl scolded, and they both walked away, clearly thinking that they were defending Peach. When they were gone, Peach looked down and sighed.

"Does that happen often?" Felix asked.

"Yes, a lot. And not just with those two. Almost all of the students treat me like it's an honor to even breathe on them. I know I'm next in line to rule the Kingdom, but it would be nice if I could just be treated..."

"Like a normal teenage girl?" Felix continued.

"Exactly! That's all I want. I mean, I know I'm not normal, but I want to still have the normal teenage life," Peach walked forward and looked up at the sky, "I want to go to senior prom, join a club or two, heck, even get detention maybe once. I want to feel like I'm actually in high school, not like high school has me, you know?" Felix nodded, making Peach really happy, "I'm glad you understand." Peach was beaming. She then walked up to Felix, "In that case, maybe you could help me with a little project."

Now Felix was curious, and a little scared. He thought it was weird that someone so sweet could represent the Moon Arcana. Was he about to get a taste of the real Princess Peach?

"What project?" Felix asked.

"You see, I want everyone at the school, students _and_ teachers, to understand that I'm just like everyone else. I'm going to show them that I'm not as perfect as I seem." Felix could tell that Peach was really into her plan. "All you have to do is follow my lead. If this works, then perhaps I can start being treated like a normal teenager, not a super star," she squealed in excitement, "This is going to be great!"

Felix was worried about her plan, but he could feel how happy she was about it. It felt like they got a lot closer. Something within Felix told him that his friendship with Peach went up a level.

Felix walked Princess Peach back to the castle, and then went back to Karen and Clyde's place.

Once there he was happy to see Clyde was home. He decided to go over to him and say hi.

"Oh, hey Felix," Clyde said, "I wanted to ask you something. Did you and Karen have an argument or something?" That was a question that Felix didn't know how to answer. He promised Mario and Peach that he wouldn't tell anyone about the dream world, and telling the truth would mean he might have to divulge what they argued about.

"We had a small disagreement, but she said that she and I were fine," Felix explained, which was true. He still didn't know what was going on with her.

"Well, I'm not too sure," Clyde explained, "Think you could keep an eye on her for me?" Felix nodded, "Thanks Felix."

Felix walked upstairs and went to check on Karen. He knocked on the door, but no one answered. He cracked the door a bit and saw that she was already in the bed, her red shell on the side of her bed. Felix never knew how Koopas could take off their shells like that, but it made sense if the shells were like an article of clothing. Felix decided not to bother her, and instead went to his room.

Once inside he got a phone call on his cell phone. He didn't recognize the number, but he answered it.

"Hey, Felix, it's Mario. Go to bed early tonight, and meet the Princess and I in the dream world. We're going to _try _to get higher in the Clock Tower. Are we clear?"

"Yeah, I'll be there." Felix said.

"Then I'll see you there."

Felix hung up the phone and decided to do like Karen, and go to bed early. Only in his case, he actually had someplace to go...

Next stop, the Dream World...


	8. Chapter 8

**I picture the battle music to be the music playing on the second half of the last level in Nights Journey of Dreams for Nintendo Wii, but I'm not sure. I'm still coming up with the soundtrack in my head.**

**I decided to base some of the Shadows off of enemies in the Mario universe. If anyone has ideas for checkpoint Shadows, please let me know via PM.**

Chapter 08

As Felix's thoughts slowly drifted away, the door to the dream world slowly came into view. Once it became perfectly clear, the door opened and there was a white flash. When it cleared up he found himself in the Central Plaza, right in front of the Clock Tower.

Peach immediately ran up to him, "I'm glad you were able to make it," Peach said.

"Are we sure this is a good idea?" Felix asked, "I was under the impression that we weren't going on until we had a few more members."

"That was the plan," Mario said walking up to Felix and Peach, "But we don't know how to trigger the awakening. Until we know how to wake people up then we can't do anything but try to move forward."

"Thankfully we'll have help today," Peach said catching both Mario and Felix's attention.

"Help?" Mario started, "What help?" No sooner than that did all three of them hear a familiar flute playing a familiar tune. Hearing that made Mario cringe a bit. "You can't be serious..." he groaned.

"I arrived sooner than you two, so I took the chance to look around for him. Once I did I asked him if he could support us while in the Clock Tower," Peach explained. Nights then took that as his chance to fly down and circle Mario.

"And what can he do? Can he fight the Shadows?" Mario asked, clearly annoyed at Nights' presence.

"No, I can't," Nights explained, "But I can do other things to help you."

"Can't," Mario shot at Nights looking at him, "or won't?"

"You aren't still on me being a Shadow, are you?" Nights asked putting his hands on his hips also getting in Mario's face.

"I don't know. I just find it a little suspicious that you live here, you go around freely, and yet the shadows never attack you."

"The shadow's rarely leave the Clock Tower, and when they do, I go into hiding! I'm not as free as you think!"

"Is that why you're helping us?" Peach asked, "So you can free your home?"

"Well, you guys are able to fight the Shadows," Nights said crossing his legs in mid air and putting his hands behind his head, as if sitting in mid air, "I figured if you're able to fight them, you can help me liberate this place."

"Liberate?" Felix asked, "Are there others like you?"

"There used to be," Nights said now looking down in sadness, "But now they're all gone. Nights is the only one left."

"Nights..." Peach said in sadness, "I'm so sorry."

"That's why, the truth is, I do need your help. I can't fight the Shadows, but you can. I know my way around here, so I can guide you. So..."

Peach turned to Mario and Felix, "Felix, Mario, we have to help him."

Truth was, contrary to what Mario may or may not have thought, Felix kind of figured Nights intentions for helping them. The way he came to save them showed that he was following them, so once he realized their intentions he probably knew he could trust them. Felix thought about Nights' story, and then nodded.

"I had every intention of doing so," Felix stated. Mario sighed.

"Yeah, I guess I feel the same way. Kind of hard not to after a story like that."

Nights smiled and flew around happily. Watching him made Felix smile. For some reason he just felt like he and this creature could get along really well.

"So hang on," Mario said catching Nights' attention, "How can you support us if you can't fight?"

"Well," Nights began flying back down, "I know quite a bit about the Shadows here, so I can tell you things like how they move, how they fight, and their weakness if I know them." Felix nodded hearing this. Having Nights follow them might be a really good thing after all. "Also, I can take us back to this area if things get too crazy up there."

"But you can't send us back?" Mario asked.

"Well, of course not. And why would I? If the intention of that spell is to _escape _then why would I teleport us back into the danger zone?" Nights snapped.

"Geez, just asking..."

Felix and Peach laughed. It was clear that they were going to have an interesting relationship.

"Well, I think we wasted enough time here," Peach said, "Let's get going. We can't leave until we at least step into the Clock Tower."

Felix and Mario nodded, and walked to the Clock tower with Peach. Before Felix could go in though, Nights flew over to him.

"Hey Felix," Nights began, "The more I see you, the more I like you. I've never had friends from the Waking World before. Could we possibly be friends?" There was no way Felix could turn down that request, so he nodded, "Really?" Nights laughed happily and flew around again. Nights then flew in front of Felix and crossed his arms, "I won't let you down, Felix."

Felix nodded, feeling a strong bond form between him and Nights.

"!"

_Thou art I and I am thou..._

_Thou hast established a new bond..._

_Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Star Arcana_

With the new friendship established, Felix and Nights followed Mario and Peach into the Clock Tower.

~Clock Tower: 5th floor

Felix and Mario both stood next to each other with their weapons out, Peach right behind them, and Nights next to Peach, but a little in front.

"I'm surprised," Peach said, "Usually the Clock Tower changes form whenever we reenter, but this room is exactly the same."

"It is basically an open room. Not enough to change I guess," Mario concluded.

"These rooms only have one set of Shadows," Nights explained, "we can proceed to the next floor from here."

The group decided tat was the best option, and went on to the next floor.

~Clock Tower: 6th floor

Familiar territory greeted them on the 6th floor, as it already looked like a maze. They wasted no time running through the maze, trying to find the stairs to the next floor. A few minutes into the maze two Shadows shaped like Chain Chomps appeared in front of them. Mario ran up to one and tried to punch at it, but it moved out of the way and tackled him back onto the ground. When he got up, he stepped back as his Tarot Card appeared in front of him.

"Persona!" Mario shouted before punching the card. Abel appeared in front of him and slammed his plow onto the Chain Chomp in front of him, knocking it back.

Felix turned to Nights, "Do you know about these Shadows?"

"These Shadows are common. Let me see..." Nights looked like he was thinking, "Try to hold them off while I try to remember."

"Great, we're going off of his memory," Mario groaned, "Which seems so good by the way."

Felix held up up his hand as his Tarot Card appeared, "Persona!" he said crushing the card in his hand. Siegfried appeared in front of Felix and slashed down really hard with his sword, destroying the one in front of Mario. The other one bounced up to Felix and bit him hard. Felix screamed in pain and fell back.

"Felix!" Peach shouted about to run to him, until Nights put his hands on her shoulder pulling her back.

"Hey, Red Cap!" Nights shouted to Mario, "I just remembered! Use your Agi skills!"

Mario nodded and prepared to summon his Persona, "Let's go, Abel!" Mario shouted. Abel appeared behind him and held his plow above him. Fire condensed around the Chain Chomp, knocking it down. Mario then ran up to Felix, "Hey, I've got an idea," Mario said whispering something in Felix's ear. Felix nodded and they both ran up to the Shadow and, well, the only way to describe what happened next, they wailed on the Shadow, hard. Peach and Nights could barely see what they were doing, but when they were done, the Shadow dispersed.

"That... was something..." Nights said, clearly speechless.

"Either way, we can proceed," Peach said. Felix nodded, but then fell to his knees a bit, prompting everyone to gather around him, "Felix!" Peach shouted.

"Hey, Jester Thing, can you get us out of here?" Mario asked harshly.

"My name is Nights, Red Cap," Nights spat at Mario, "And I think so. Hang on," before Nights could do anything though, Felix held up his hand.

"Felix?" Peach asked.

In Felix's mind he saw a new card appear. This time though, he saw a cute little snow man with a blue cap on it. He mentally took the card and the name "Jack Frost" came to mind. Felix then got up. He pulled the card out of his pocket and threw it in front of him, and it vanished as if it was inserted somewhere. As he did this, everyone was confused.

"What are you doing?" Mario asked. Everyone was shocked when it looked like he was summoning his Persona, "Wait? Why now?" Mario asked.

"Persona!" Felix shouted. Instead of Siegfried though, the cute little snow man thing appeared. It spun around and then held it's hand in the air, and a calming light engulfed Felix. When it and the new Persona vanished, Felix felt a lot better.

"What was that?" Peach asked.

"I think it was a Persona," Mario said walking around Felix, "But it isn't his normal one. Where did that come from?" Mario asked.

Sadly Felix didn't have an answer to that question. There was a whole lot that was confusing to Felix, this only added to it. Maybe he could ask Igor about it later.

"Um, Mario," Peach started, "I don't know where Felix got that other Persona, but either way it means we can proceed. Let's keep going. It would be nice to get to another checkpoint tonight."

Mario groaned, and then began walking ahead, "Let's just go then."

Felix got up and began walking forward, Peach grabbing his arm, "Are you sure you'll be okay?" she asked. Felix nodded and then began walking forward.

~Clock Tower: 8th floor

Felix and Mario continued to run through the maze, Peach and Nights following behind. This time they ran into a Shadow shaped like a table with a mask on the hanging table cloth and pots and pans that were on fire floating around top of the table.

Felix and Mario nodded to each other, and then ran up to the Shadow. The Table Shadow threw one of it's pans at Mario, knocking him down. Felix held up his hand and shattered his Tarot Card, Siegfried appearing behind him raising his sword, casting Zio. The Shadow didn't seem to be affected by the attack.

"Persona!" Mario shouted punching his Tarot Card. Abel ran up to the Shadow and whacked the Shadow with his plow. It took a little damage, but it was clear that it wasn't too hurt, "Damn it!" Mario shouted as Abel faded away.

Felix turned to Nights and nodded. Nights understood and nodded, "Got it," Nights said, "Let me try to remember what it's weak against."

The Shadow cast a fire spell at Mario, who took a little damage, but since Abel was a fire type he didn't get too hurt.

"Got it!" Nights said, "Use Bufu skills!"

"Bufu? You mean ice?" Peach asked. Mario and Felix looked back at Nights and Peach.

"None of us have Bufu skills! What the hell do we do now!" Mario shouted. Felix thought for a second, and then remembered his new Persona. He then pulled out the new card and switched Personas. Felix then ran up to the Table and and did a five hit combo on the Shadow, doing heavy damage.

"Holy hell!" Mario exclaimed running up to Felix, "How the hell did that happen?"

"The new Persona gives me new powers, watch!" Felix then held up his hand, "JACK FROST!" the new Persona appeared in front of Felix and held his hand in the air. An icicle converged over the Shadow, knocking it down.

"Alright Felix, let's take it down! You ready?" Mario asked, Felix nodding, "That's right!" Felix and Mario then ran up to the Table Shadow and did the same all out attack they did before, destroying the Shadow instantly. Felix and Mario pounded fists and then met in a tight hand shake, Felix and Mario both smirking looking at each other.

Peach and Nights smiled looking at them, happy that they were finally starting to get along, at least on the battle field.

A few minutes later, Felix and Mario walked back up to Peach and Nights.

"I think we should get out of here," Felix said, "If this is only the eighth floor then I don't want to know what's on the higher up floors."

"Felix is right," Mario added, surprising Peach a little, "We need more people to go to the higher floors. Felix and I aren't going to be enough."

Peach thought about that, and then nodded, "You're right. We'd need at least three Persona users," Peach turned to Nights, "Nights, can you get us out of here?"

Nights nodded with a smile, "Just leave it to me." Nights flew above them and flew around them in a circle. Everything went white, and they found themselves right in the Central Plaza.

As they walked away from the Clock Tower, Mario ran up to Felix.

"Hey, Felix, you're pretty good. To be honest, I'm not used to working with other people. I don't know how you got that other Persona, but I'm glad that you got it," Mario held his hand out, "Here's to us," Felix smirked and then took Mario's hand. Mario then turned to the silver door and walked out, leaving the Dream World. Peach then walked up to Felix.

"I wish I could use a Persona," Peach said sadly, "All I do is get in the way, right?" Felix quickly shook his head, "You're sweet Felix. If only we had three Persona users. I think then we could go up a few more floors," Peach then turned and walked through the door as well.

"More Persona users?" Nights asked flying down to Felix, "Those spirits you and the other guy use, those are Personas, right?" Felix nodded, "You know, they feel sort of like Shadows, only different," Felix was shocked to hear that.

"How so?"

"I don't know. They don't seem as chaotic. Almost like a purified Shadow, if that's even possible," Nights said shrugging his shoulders.

Felix looked around the Central Plaza until he saw the door to the Velvet Room. He decided to visit Igor and Mary before leaving the Velvet Room. He knew that he was proving Igor right by going to the Velvet Room of his own free will, but he didn't care. He needed some things cleared up, like how to get other Persona users, and why the hell he now had _two _Personas.

"You'll come back soon, right?" Nights asked, prompting Felix to nod, "Great! See you later then."

Felix said farewell to Nights and then walked over to the Velvet Room entrance. He pulled out his Velvet Key, opened the door and went inside.

Inside the Velvet Room, Felix saw Igor and Mary, still sitting in those same spots. Did they ever move? Felix sat down in front of the table in the center of the room.

"Why, hello Felix," Igor said with a smile, "I've been waiting for this visit. You remember, right? I said that the next time we met, you would come here on your own. I'm pleased that we're having this visit." Felix wasn't too sure if he was as "pleased" as Igor was. Sure Igor seemed nice enough, and was clearly an ally, there was something about Igor that was just... creepy.

"I need to know a few things," Felix said, deciding to get right down to business.

"Of course, what do you wish to know?" Igor asked.

"First question, what the hell is this?" Felix asked pulling out the Jack Frost Card.

"Ah, I see you've awakened to another Persona. You remember how I told you that you possess the power to use multiple Personas, right?" Felix nodded, "Most of those Personas come from the infinite well of your heart." Jack Frost appeared in front of Felix, "This is just one of many Personas that you can use. Over time, you will learn how to use many different Personas."

Felix partially understood, but he was still wondering why he was so special. The more his journey went on, the crazier it got, and the more he wondered why he was so different. That thought reminded him of his next question.

"Okay then, if that's the case, how do people normally get Personas?"

"Ah, things are getting difficult for you in the Dream World, aren't they?" Igor asked. Felix then explained to Igor what Peach was concerned about, and a little of what Nights said, "I see. Yes, that is an issue. You see, Personas, as you know, are second sides to your soul. In many ways, that is like a Shadow. Worry not, for if you're brave enough, a new ally will awaken soon. The fight will be challenging, and you'll see a side of someone that you never knew, but push through. If you succeed, you and this person will become closer than ever. If you fail, then you condemn them to the darkness." Felix remembered that Peach said there was already a victim for this month. Was she wrong? "Good luck to you, Felix, and farewell," Igor said. Everything went white, and Felix felt himself wake up, coming back to the Waking World.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

~Thursday April 18, Morning

Felix was walking to the school gates. As he approached he saw Mario waiting for him next to the gate.

"Hey," Mario said seriously, "We just found out something about that kid who was on the news. Apparently he wasn't the victim for this month." Felix was shocked hearing that. "Also, one of the supposed victims actually woke up. Apparently he was just in an accident. You know what this means, right?"

"That we're going to have to move soon," Felix stated.

"Exactly. Keep an eye out, got it?" Mario asked, getting a nod from Felix. The two of them proceeded into the school together.

-Morning/Lunch Time-

Felix was about to get up from his desk, when Princess Peach walked up to Felix.

"Felix, we need to talk. It's about Karen," Felix jumped slightly when Peach mentioned that name, "I'm sure that Mario told you about the upsetting news about one of the victims, right?" Felix nodded, "Well, I didn't tell Mario this part, but last night I dreamed about Karen."

"Does this mean that she's a victim?" Felix asked, getting scared.

"I don't know, but she might be. If anything happens, please let me know, alright?" Felix nodded. Wen Peach left, Felix sat back in his chair, his heart racing. Was his greatest fear about to come true?

-Lunch Time/After School-

Karen was walking home, by herself as usual. She had just left the building when...

"Karen, wait!" Peach called from behind her. Karen stopped and turned around to see Peach run up to her.

"What do you want?" Karen asked coldly.

"Karen, last night I had a dream about you. I think you might be the next victim," Karen actually looked a little scared hearing that, but not surprised.

"I thought the boy on the news was the victim for this month," Karen said softly.

"I thought so too, but apparently he actually started having the dreams in March, so he's technically March's victim. And since I dreamed about you then that means-"

"It's your fault..." Karen said slowly.

"Huh? Karen, what do you-"

Karen then exploded in front of Peach, "Ever since you entered our lives things have gone from bad to worst! First you put Felix in danger, and now you're telling me that I'm going to become a victim? Just being around you makes things worse for everyone! I hate you!"

"K, Karen, I..." Peach tried to apologize, but she couldn't find the words.

"Just do me a favor, and leave me alone!" with that Karen ran off in tears. Peach fell to her knees in shock at what just happened. Was this her fault? Was Karen going to be a victim because she got Felix involved? Whether or not that was true, this was the first time anyone said that they hated her, and Peach felt awful.

As Felix walked home, those two students (you know the ones) ran up to him, and they did not look happy.

"That girlfriend of yours is in real trouble!" one girl said, probably referring to Karen.

"She was outside the school, yelling at Her Majesty!" hearing that made Felix jump.

"Where are they now?"

"Your friend ran home, the Princess is still here. Your friend made her cry, you know!" the other girl said. Felix didn't know what to do. He had to talk to both of them. Since Peach was the closest, he decided to go see her first. He ran out of the school to find her, the two girls watching him in disgust.

He found her under a tree. She did look like she had been crying a little. Felix walked up to Peach and put his hand on her shoulder.

"Felix..." Peach said looking up at him, then looking away, "I was wrong to get you and Karen involved, I'm sure of it now. Karen hates me, and now she's probably going to be a victim. Felix, I'm so sorry!" Peach said burying her face in her hands.

"It's not your fault," Felix reasoned, "If you had told me or not, Karen might have become the next victim anyway. Besides, I made the choice to join you and Mario. Don't blame yourself."

Peach calmed down bit, and then fell into Felix's arms, "Thank you Felix," she said softly. Felix felt like he and Peach just became a little closer.

-After School/Evening-

When Felix made it back to Karen's place, he saw Karen sitting on the couch. She looked really upset.

"We need to talk," Felix said, but Karen turned away.

"I don't have anything to say to you."

"You've been acting strange ever since you saw me come back from the Dream World. What's wrong?"

"You're asking me what's wrong?" Karen asked, she then got up and got right in Felix's face, "I should ask you that question! You're letting her walk all over you!"

"What are you talking about!"

"You got swept up in her sweet voice, her blue eyes, her strawberry scent, and you fell for her!"

"She needs my help! Mario can't fight the Shadows alone, and Peach doesn't have a Persona! I have to do this!"

"Let them find some other Persona user! They don't need you! _I _need you! I need you right here, in the Real World, with me!"

"Karen, what is this abou-" at that second Karen threw Felix a curve ball. She ran up to him, and kissed him. They stayed there for a few seconds, and then Karen slowly stepped away from Felix. They stared at each other for a while, until Karen pushed her way past Felix and ran up to her room. Felix was speechless about what happened. Eventually he decided to go to bed.

~Friday April 19, Morning

Felix got up and knocked on Karen's door. He hoped that after getting some sleep she would feel a little better. When she didn't answer right away, Felix slowly opened the door and peeked inside. It looked like she was still asleep. Felix went up to her and tried to wake her up, but after a few attempts Felix realized what had happened.

"No...!" Felix said in horror.

-Morning/Lunch Time-

Sadly Felix still had to go to school. He was happy that Clyde didn't come home, but he knew that he had to face him at some point. During lunch he went up to Peach, who already knew what happened by the look on Felix's face.

"Don't tell me... Karen is...?" Peach asked, getting a nod from Felix, "I was afraid of this."

"What do we do? Can we still save her?" Felix asked.

"I believe so, but it has to be tonight! If we don't she'll be lost forever!" Peach said, making Felix even more worried. Peach got up from her desk and looked at Felix seriously, "I'll call Mario, and have him meet up with us after school. Don't worry Felix, we'll save her," Peach comforted. She then left the room to call Mario. Felix wished he could save Karen now, but sadly he couldn't risk going to the Dream World alone, and he didn't know if it was possible to go there any other time besides night time. He decided to wait for school to end so he could talk to Mario and Peach.

-Lunch Time/After School-

When Felix walked outside he saw Peach and Mario standing under the tree he and Karen usually had lunch under.

"Felix!" Peach called out, Felix then walking up to them.

"Peach just told me about Karen," Mario explained looking serious, "I'm not going to lie, Peach and I have only succeeded in saving a few of the victims, and those we saved because Peach and I were in the Dream World at the time."

"What happened to the ones you couldn't save?"

"The Shadows consumed them, and they were trapped in their own dreams," Mario explained, confusing Felix. What did that mean, anyway?

"The ones we did save weren't consumed by their dreams in the slightest," Peach chimed in, "They were still exploring the Dream World. We managed to get them to the door to the Waking World, and they woke up with no memory of what happened."

"What about now? Can Karen still be saved?"

"Not sure. I'll tell you one thing, we're cutting it pretty close," Mario said, "You remember we said that we have one night to save them?" Felix nodded, "Since she went there last night, we have until the end of this night to save her."

Hearing Peach and Mario talk with such assurance about saving Karen made him feel closer to both of them as a team, as if their relationship working together just went up a level.

"How are we going to get there in time?"

"Don't worry," Peach started, "Focusing on your Persona should have a calming effect on your mind. Just lie down and think about it tonight and you'll end up in the Dream World." Felix nodded, "We're not going to promise anything, but we're going to do everything we can to save her. I'll see you tonight, Felix."

Felix nodded and watched Peach walk off. Mario nodded reassuringly, and then walked after her. Felix took another look at the tree, wishing that he had spent time with Karen when he had the chance.

-After School/Evening-

When Felix got inside, he was pleased to see that Clyde still hadn't come home. He went into the kitchen and saw a note on the refrigerator. Was he wrong about Karen? Had she just been in too tired to wake up? He went over to the note, saddened to see that it was actually Clyde. Apparently he stopped off at home for a few minutes, and he wanted to let Felix know that Karen must not be feeling well. He didn't seem to suspect that Karen had become a victim yet, which was good. He didn't want to have to try and explain to Clyde what happened to his daughter.

Before going into his room, Felix stopped off in Karen's room. He put an hand on her shoulder, surprised by the fact that she wasn't cold at all. She was really just asleep. He tried once again to wake her up, much to no avail. He turned her over so he could see her face, and was a little confused.

She was smiling in her sleep...

Felix was under the impression that she would look like she were having a nightmare or something, but right now it looked like she was having a really good dream. Felix decided to ask Peach and Mario what it meant when he saw them tonight.

-Evening/Late Night-

The doorway to the Dream World opened in his mind, and when Felix arrived at the Central Plaza he saw Mario and Peach talking to Nights. When Nights pointed to Felix, both Mario and Peach turned to him.

"It's about time," Mario said, showing that he had been waiting for a while. Felix walked up to them, and Mario motioned to Nights, "This guy says he thinks he knows where Karen is." Hearing that shocked Felix a bit.

"Yeah, yeah," Nights said nodding, "A little after you guys left the last time, the Dream World got bigger again."

"Nights is under the impression that Karen is probably there," Mario stated, prompting another nod from Nights.

"It's a good thing that the days don't seem to pass on until we leave the Dream World," Peach said, "But that means we can't leave until we save Karen."

"Speaking of which," Felix said finally, "Before I left, I took a good look at Karen. She was smiling in her sleep," that clearly confused Mario and Peach, who looked at each other, "Do you know what that means?"

"No," Peach said, "Mario and I have never really seen any of the victims in the Real World."

"Now I really want to get that girl out of here," Mario stated, "If she's smiling in her sleep, then she might be too far gone."

"Don't say that Mario," Peach said, "Felix is really worried about her, and so am I. We're going to save her no matter what," she turned to Felix, "Right Felix?" Felix nodded.

"Then let's stop talking about it and get going," Mario said now turning to Nights, "Take us there."

"Got it. Just follow me," with that Felix, Mario, and Peach followed Nights, all four of them praying that it wasn't too late for Karen.


	10. Chapter 10

**Yep, this is definitely a Persona story. It took ten chapters to get to the first rescue mission. Between rescue missions, exploring the Clock Tower, and Social Links, this is going to be a long story. Don't be too shocked by some of the Persona's Felix will get in this story.**

**I hope you like this chapter, as it's the first rescue mission I hope it stays true to the feel of Persona 4, which is where I'm getting this idea. Any tips would be great, just no flames. I haven't gotten any yet I don't think, just making that clear.**

**PS: There was a change in Karen's last name. In an earlier chapter I had her named McDonald, but now I changed it to Koopaski. It matters, trust me.**

Chapter 10

They were walking for a while. As they walked they noticed the environment slowly change. By the time they got to their destination it was actually daytime in the Dream World. They were also in a beautiful meadow, complete with flowers. The four of them stopped and took in their surroundings.

"Okay," Mario began, "This is interesting."

"I've never seen such a vivid dream," Peach said, "It's almost beautiful."

"If Karen is here then it's going to take forever to find her in this place," Mario stated.

Felix looked around until he found what looked like a beautiful white church, "I think we should check that place out," he said.

"It's better than walking around all night, er, day," Mario said shrugging his shoulders.

When the four of them reached the church, Nights flew around trying to find a window to see into.

"I can't see inside," Nights said flying back down.

"But she is in here," Peach said catching everyone's attention, "Come over here."

Peach was looking at a sign next to the church. On the sign it said "Karen's Wedding", confusing Mario, Nights, and especially Felix.

"A wedding...?" Mario asked, "Are you serious? We're here to save her, and she's having a wedding?"

"I don't know if it's that simple," Peach said turning to them, "There aren't any other people here besides us and Karen, so who could she be marrying?"

"Shadows!" Nights said suddenly.

"No way," Mario said dismissing what he thought Nights meant, "Shadows are monsters. Why would she-"

"No idiot," Nights shot at Mario, " I sense Shadows inside this building!" that got everyone's attention.

"If that's the case," Peach turned to Felix and Mario, "Karen is in danger! We need to move now!" both of them nodded, and all four of them ran into the church.

~Koopaski Cathedral: 1st floor

Once inside they were greeted with a familiar sight, as just like the Clock Tower, it looked like a maze. Only this time it was fashioned to look like a church. The four of them proceeded forward, until three Shadows appeared, all shaped like the blobs Felix ran into the first time. Felix and Mario ran forward, both of them in fighting stances and their weapons out.

Mario ran up first and punched at one blob, doing a bit of damage, but one of the other blobs approached him and attacked him from the side.

Felix held up his hand preparing to summon his Persona, "Persona!" he said crushing the card, Siegfried appearing behind Felix casting Zio at the shadow that attacked Mario, knocking it down. This gave Felix the opening he needed to go a second time, so he summoned Siegfried a second time casting Zio on another shadow, also knocking it down.

"Go! Go!" Mario cheered, liking the direction this was going.

Felix summoned Siegfried a third time, also casting Zio and knocking that Shadow down. Once all three of them were knocked out, Mario ran up to Felix.

"This is our opening, right?" Mario asked Felix, who nodded, "Got it!" both of them ran up to the injured Shadows, and did their all out attack, destroying them in one shot. "Let's not waste any time!" Mario said to Felix, who nodded. When Peach and Nights caught up, they proceeded onward. Eventually they found a staircase going up.

~Koopaski Cathedral: 2nd floor

On the second floor they ran into two Shadows shaped like Piranna Plants. Felix and Mario ran up to them, but one began casting Garu and hit Felix, knocking him down and doing extra damage.

"Ah!" Peach screamed, "Felix!"

Mario saw that and got angry, "Let's go, Abel!" Mario shouted punching his Tarot Card. Abel held up his plow and cast Maragi at both Shadows, knocking both of them out. Since Felix was still hurt, he decided to cast Maragi again, this time killing the Shadows. Mario ran up to Felix and helped him up, "Are you okay?" Mario asked Felix, who nodded. Before they proceeded onward though, Felix saw another card appear in his mind. On this card was what looked like a white and gold ninja with a golden V on his chest that sort of looked like a smile. The ninja also had a red scarf. The name "Jiraiya" came to Felix. With the knew Persona, Felix and the team proceeded onward.

Right before reaching the staircase they ran into two Shadows shaped like Thwomps. These Shadows caught them off guard, and one was able to slam Mario, doing heavy damage.

Felix switched Personas and summoned Jack Frost, having him cast Dia on Mario, "Thanks Felix," Mario said, then getting in a defensive stance. Felix turned to Nights and nodded.

"Give me a second, I'll see if I can remember what it's weak against," Nights said now thinking. Peach gave Nights a quick look, and then turned back to the fight.

One Thwomp floated up to Felix and tried to slam him, but Felix saw it coming and moved out of the way causing the Thwomp to fall over. The other Thwomp tried to stomp Mario again, but he was able to roll out of the way.

"Got it!" Nights said, "Use wind skills! I think they're called Garu!"

"Garu?" Mario asked, then looking at Felix, who nodded. Felix switched Personas, then held his hand up.

"JIRAIYA!" Felix shouted crushing the card. Jiraiya appeared spinning in front of Felix, and then did a hand sign casting Garu at the one Thwomp that attacked Mario (it didn't fall over) knocking it down. When it fell over, Mario ran up to Felix giving him a look as if asking a question. When Felix nodded they both ran up to the Thwomps doing their all out attack, destroying them.

When Felix and Mario relaxed, Peach and Nights ran up to them.

"That was close," Nights said, "We almost didn't make it."

"Tell me about it," Mario said, "It's a good thing you knew what they were weak against."

While Nights nodded proudly, Peach began giggling. Everyone looked at her, wondering what she thought was funny.

"That new Persona," Peach said through her giggles, "It looked funny, Felix."

Everyone looked at Peach shaking their heads while she giggled. It was good that she found something that made her laugh, but it was times like this that made her seem sort of like a child. They proceeded onward to the stairs, Peach still giggling.

~Koopaski Cathedral: 3rd floor

After a few minutes on the third floor they found a large open room. When theyran inside they saw Karen standing in the center. She had her back turned to them and she was wearing a wedding gown.

"Karen!" Peach shouted. Karen was silent for the longest time, making everyone worried, "Karen? Are you okay?"

"I didn't think you would come..." Karen said softly. She then turned around, revealing that she was wearing make up. She also looked happy, "So happy you could be here for our wedding," as she spoke, she sounded like she was in a trance.

"_Our_ wedding?" Mario asked, "Who's wedding is this anyway?"

"Why, me and Felix's of course," Karen said, shocking everyone.

"F, Felix?" Peach asked, all three of them now looking at Felix, who was horribly confused.

"Oh, didn't you know?" Karen asked, "He and I are madly in love. We've been together for years."

"I thought you two hadn't seen each other since elementary school," Mario asked Felix.

"She's not fully here," Nights said catching everyone's attention, "Her mind has been consumed by the Shadows. Right now, her thoughts are whatever the Shadows want."

"Damn it..." Mario said looking at Karen in sadness. Felix felt hopeless. Was it too late to save her.

"Karen," Peach began walking up to Karen, "Come on, honey. Let's go home."

"No!" Karen snapped, surprising everyone, "I'm tired of you getting in the way of me and Felix! You won't ruin this for me! Not this time!" she then looked at Felix with a strange smile, "Felix, I'll wait for you in the sanctuary." she said lovingly before running off.

Peach fell to her knees and lowered her head, "It's too late," Peach said sadly, "If she's this far gone then-"

"Hey, hey!" Nights said catching everyone's attention, "It's too early to give up! What if you guys leave thinking you can't save her, just to find out that there was still a chance?"

"I never thought I would say this," Mario said, "But he's right. For both Karen and Felix, we have to keep going."

Felix went over to Peach and put her hand on her shoulder, nodding with a smile.

"Thank you," Peach said. She then got up and turned to everyone, "Let's keep moving." With that said, they proceeded onward to the next floor.

~Koopaski Cathedral: 4th floor

On the fourth floor, Felix and Mario continued to run forward, Peach and Nights not too far behind. While running they saw another Shadow that looked like a knight on a horse, only this one was smaller and looked weaker. Felix went up first and began slashing at it, sadly not doing much damage. While that went on, Mario prepared to summon his Persona.

"Persona!" Mario shouted punching his Tarot Card. Abel appeared behind Mario and cast Agi, sadly the Shadow was invulnerable to fire, "Damn it!" Mario said.

The Shadow charged itself up with energy, confusing Felix a bit.

"What was that?" he asked Mario.

"Don't know, but be careful!" Mario replied. Felix switched Personas and summoned Siegfried, having him run up to the Shadow and slash it with his sword. The Shadow and Siegfried clashed weapons for a little while, until the Shadow knocked Siegfried away, who vanished. The Shadow charged at Felix, doing heavy damage and knocking him down.

"No! Felix!" Peach shouted, wishing she could join them.

The Shadow followed up by charging it's energy again. Mario ran up to the Shadow, and punched it five times, the fifth time being hard enough to knock the Shadow down. While it was down he summoned Abel again and had Abel slam his plow on the Shadow, doing severe damage since it was on the ground.

Felix got up and held up his hand letting his Tarot Card appear, "SIEGFRIED!" he shouted crushing his Tarot Card. Siegfried appeard and slashed the Shadow hard killing it.

Peach breathed a sigh of relief as Nights flew around happily.

"Good job you two," Nights said. Felix and Mario looked at each other, Mario giving Felix a thumbs up. The four of them proceeded to the stairs going up.

~Koopaski Cathedral: 5th floor

On the fifth floor they saw a large red door, probably leading to the sanctuary. They wasted no time running through the doors. Karen was standing at the altar as if waiting for them.

"Felix!" Karen called out lovingly, "I'm so happy you came."

"Karen, why are you doing all this?" Felix asked.

"Why? It's so you and I can be together forever," Karen replied.

"Together... forever...?" Felix said slowly.

"This trip was supposed to be for you and me! I hadn't seen you for years, and then I finally have you all to myself," Karen then pointed to Peach, "But then she had to come and ruin everything!"

"Me?" Peach asked.

"You showed up at our door with your big teary eyes, your sweet voice, and you seduced Felix into being with you! Don't think I don't know what this is about! You say you need his help, but really, you just want Felix all to yourself! You think that just because your the princess you're entitled to have everything you want!"

"That's not true!" Peach defended, "I didn't want to put Felix in danger, but I do need him! I didn't mean to hurt you Karen!"

"Oh shut UP!" Karen shouted, "You are the phoniest person I've ever seen!" Karen then spoke in a mocking tone, "I didn't want to hurt you! I do need his help! Please, the only way you'd sound more fake is if you started crying!"

Truth was Peach was on the verge of tears. Sure Peach was sure there were some people who didn't like her, but Karen was the first to actually _hate _her and to voice it so strongly.

"Karen... I... I'm sorry..." Peach said softly.

"Sorry?" Karen shouted, "You're sorry? Do you think that's going to change anything? I don't want sorry! I want tears! I want pain! I want you to feel everything that you made me feel! What better way then to take Felix away from you?" she then looked at Felix, "Come on honey. It's time for our wedding," she said, now sounding loving again.

Felix was scared out of his mind. Karen was acting like a completely different person right now. He wanted to make things right, but he didn't blame Peach for anything. He stepped back and shook his head, "I can't come up there with you Karen," he said sadly.

Karen looked really hurt, "What? Why not?" she asked as if about to cry.

"We didn't come here to attend a wedding," Mario finally spoke, "we came here to get you out of here!"

"Get me out of here?" Karen asked, as if confused.

"Yes Karen, you're in great danger right now," Peach explained, "Everything you see here is an illusion created by the Shadows!"

"Stop it! STOP IT!" Karen shouted, "I don't want to hear your lies!"

"We're not lying!" Peach shouted, "This isn't a church! You and Felix aren't getting married! None of this is real!"

After hearing that, everything was still, as if time stopped. Suddenly everything went dark and a dark feeling overwhelmed them.

"Hey!" Mario asked looking around, "What's going on?"

"It was light a second ago," Nights said.

Everyone!" Peach cried out, "Karen is...!"

They looked and saw a dark cloud slowly engulf Karen, "Not real...?" Karen asked slowly, "First you take Felix away from me, and now you want to take away all of this? Fine then... If I can't have Felix, then you can't either!" the cloud got larger and then exploded, forcing everyone to cover their eyes.

When the smoke cleared they didn't see Karen. Instead they saw a large and powerful looking Shadow. It looked sort of like a woman in a wedding dress sitting on a giant swing, but it was wearing a black mask with a long beak like nose, it's arms were actually chained to the swing preventing it from getting off, it had really long purple hair like Karen, but much longer going past the swing a bit, and it was bare footed allowing it to hold a bow and golden arrow with it's feet.

"What the hell is that?" Mario asked.

"That..." Felix began... "is Karen..." everyone looked at him in shock.

"Karen?" Mario asked looking back up at the Shadow, now identified as Karen, swinging back and forth.

"She's been consumed by the Shadows," Peach said, "so much that she's _become _a Shadow!" Peach fell to her knees, "It's hopeless now... Karen is lost to us..."

"No, wait!" Nights said catching Felix and Mario's attention, "I still feel that girl in there! Her mind hasn't been fully taken over by the Shadows!"

Felix and Mario looked at each other, nodded, and then ran in front of Peach defending her.

"Mario! Felix!" Peach cried out once she realized what they were doing.

"If Karen is still in there, then all we have to do is defeat the Shadow and we can save Karen!" Mario said, now looking at Felix, "Right?" Felix nodded as a response, "Let's go!" both of them ran up to Shadow Karen, getting their weapons out.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

(Play song: I'll Face Myself/Persona 4 soundtrack)

"This is my world, my reality, I'm done with the real world!" Shadow Karen said, "If you side with them Felix, then you're dead to me as well!"

"Damn it!" Nights said, "I don't recognize this Shadow! Sorry Felix, but you and Red Cap are on your own with this one!"

Mario and Felix ran toward Shadow Karen, but she began firing her arrows at them. One hit Felix knocking him back. Mario saw that and stopped running allowing his Tarot Card to appear.

"Persona!" he said punching the Tarot Card. Abel appeared in front of him and slammed his plow on Shadow Karen, who simply swung back avoiding it, "That's gonna get annoying fast!"

Shadow Karen gained a dark glow and cast Garu on Felix, knocking him down and doing a lot of damage. Shadow Karen followed that up by quickly shooting Mario with an arrow, also doing serious damage.

Felix slowly got up, but had to hold his chest in pain.

"Felix, you're too hurt!" Peach shouted, "You need to heal, now!"

Felix switched to Jack Frost and summoned him to cast Dia on himself. Mario didn't have any healing techniques so while he waited to get a healing from Felix he simply got defensive in case of another attack.

"How weak!" Shadow Karen taunted, "I honestly expected better from you!" She then took two arrows, and shot both of them at Mario and Felix. Felix managed to jump aside in time, Mario just blocked it. Felix then summoned Jack Frost and cast Dia on Mario, healing him.

"I owe you one!" Mario said before running back up to Shadow Karen, who fired a series of arrows at him. He made it to Shadow Karen and began punching her the best he could. This went on until she fired an arrow point blank at Mario knocking him all the way back to Felix.

Felix switched Persona's again, and then held his hand up, "SIEGFRIED!" he shouted summoning his Persona. Siegfried held his sword in the air and cast Zio on Shadow Karen, finally doing some damage knocking her partially off the swing. Mario ran up to Felix.

"Hey, should we try it?" Mario asked Felix, who nodded, "Got it!" both of them ran up to Shadow Karen and did their all out attack, but unlike all the other times this Shadow actually put up a fight actually knocking them away a few times. When they realized they weren't going to hit her anymore they jumped back. Apparently Shadow Karen felt that attack.

"So you have some power," she said, "but I have my own plan. If I can't count on the real Felix, then I'll make my own!" suddenly a copy of Felix wearing a black tuxedo appeared next to Shadow Karen, "Now, _my _Felix, protect me!"

"Wait!" Nights said, "Felix? What's going on?"

Mario tried to run to Shadow Karen again, but Felix Copy slapped him back, then pulling out a katana similar to the real Felix.

"Felix," Mario began, "I'll handle your copy! You take care of Karen!" Felix nodded and ran up to Shadow Karen. He then summoned Siegfried casting Zio again. When Shadow Karen fell off her swing, he simply cast Zio again as Mario was busy fighting his copy. Shadow Karen screamed in pain after that attack.

"Felix! You're hurting me!" Shadow Karen shouted, "Why are you doing this? I thought we were friends! So this is what that blond bitch did to you!"

Hearing this hurt Felix a lot, but he knew that he was doing the right thing. The only way to save Karen was to destroy the Shadow that consumed her. Shadow Karen apparently got really angry and her arrows started coming a lot faster and were a lot stronger, and Felix was now having a hard time.

As for Mario, he and Copy Felix were circling each other, Mario actually smirking.

"This form," Mario said, "it's the same as Felix's. This is my chance to see if you're worthy of protecting the Princess," with that said Mario and Copy Felix ran up to each other actually fighting close quarter.

Felix jumped to the side away from Shadow Karen's attacks and then summoned Siegfried again, having Siegfried run up to Shadow Karen and slash at her with his sword, doing a little damage. When Siegfried vanished Shadow Karen cast Garu on Felix, who blocked the attack, still taking heavy damage, but he at least stood his ground.

Mario and Copy Felix were still at stalemate, and it looked like Mario was enjoying it. He then jumped away from Copy Felix, "Let's go, Abel!" he said summoning Abel, who cast Agi on Copy Felix, knocking him down. Mario then had Abel cast Agi again, this time dispersing the Copy Felix.

When Shadow Karen saw that she turned to where he was and apparently looked in horror.

"AHHH!" she screamed, "Felix! _My _Felix! Come back! Please!" she screamed in horror.

Felix then held his hand up, allowing his Tarot Card to appear, "SIEGFRIED!" he shouted summoning Siegfried, who immediately cast Zio knocking Shadow Karen off her swing a bit. Mario ran up to Felix.

"So, wanna end this?" Mario asked, getting a nod from Felix. Both of them ran up to Shadow Karen again doing their all out attack, this time Shadow Karen not putting up as much of a fight.

"Why?" Shadow Karen asked slowly, "Why did you leave me? Felix... Felix! FELIX!" she was clearly panicking now, and was unable to concentrate. Felix and Mario took that as their chance to get another strong attack in.

"Let's go, Abel!"

"SIEGFRIED!"

Both Personas appeared in front of their owners and ran up to Shadow Karen, knocking her to the ground as her swing broke. Shadow Karen dispersed, leaving the real Karen lying there, still in her wedding dress.

She slowly sat up, but then for the longest time was extremely silent and still.

"Karen? Are you..." Felix asked.

"I never really hated the Princess..." Karen said softly, "When I moved, I started spending more and more time with my dad. He eventually got a job as a city guard, and I didn't see him as much."

"City guard..." Peach said to herself, realizing a bit more of what happened, "They're organized by the royal family... that means..."

"It's not your fault, Your Highness," Mario said putting a hand on Peach's shoulder, "But I can see why you'd think it was," he continued. He understood how she felt.

"I was so happy when Felix decided to come here for school," Karen continued, "This meant that I wasn't going to be alone anymore, but then..." she trailed off there, but they all knew what happened.

"Poor girl," Nights said crossing his arms, "She's been all alone all this time... She's just like me..."

"Nights..." Peach said softly.

"When I found out Princess Peach went to our school, I wanted to meet her, but I was always expecting her to be arrogant, mean, and selfish. You could say that I wanted her to be, so I'd have a reason to hate her. Then I did meet her, and she was the exact opposite. She was really sweet, and humble. I couldn't hate her, but I was still angry that she took Felix from me, so I tried to convince myself that she was phony, and that she wanted to take Felix away from me."

"Karen..." Peach said now walking up to Karen and getting on her knees in front of her, "I never wanted to steal Felix away from you. Yes, I like Felix. I like him a lot, actually, but that's why I feel horrible putting him in danger. He awakened, and was the only other Persona user I knew. If we're to have any chance of stopping the Shadows then we need to gather as many Persona users as we find."

"I wasn't forced to join Peach," Felix said, "and she didn't steal me away. I joined her of my own free will, because I wanted to help her and Mario."

Karen looked up at Felix, "You mean, you haven't left me?" Karen asked.

"You're my best friend," Felix said, "I'll never leave you."

"Felix..." Karen said looking down. She was then shocked to see Peach hugging her.

"If it's okay, I'd like to be your friend too," Peach said softly.

Karen began crying softly, and then she began glowing. There was the sound of glass shattering, and behind Karen was a spirit of sorts. Looking at the spirit had everyone shocked.

"Is that...?" Mario asked.

"It is," Peach said, "Karen's Persona..."

The Persona was female. She was wearing a fancy black gown, black high heels, and fishnet stockings. She had really long brown hair and was wearing a fancy black mask over her eyes. The thing that was interesting about her was that she had shackles on her wrists, connected by a long chain behind her. The chain was long enough as to not hinder her movements at all, but they were hard not to notice.

Karen received the facade to face the real world, the Persona **Persephone**.

The Persona vanished, and the glazed over look on Karen's eyes vanished. She looked around confused.

"Peach? Felix? Where are we?" she asked. Everyone looked around in shock, realizing what just happened. Not only had they saved Karen, but she also had the awakening.

As they walked back to the Central Plaza, they explained to Karen what happened. They also explained to her what a Persona exactly was, and that she now had one. They finished right as they approached the door, which had appeared right as they entered the Plaza.

"Now, are you sure you're okay?" Peach asked Karen, who nodded still looking down.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Extremely embarrassed, but fine," Karen said. Nights flew over to her.

"Hey, just be happy that you're safe," Nights said, getting a nod from Karen, who still looked really upset. Mario and Felix were standing at a distance watching them.

"Are you going to ask her to join us?" Mario asked Felix.

"I don't know. This is dangerous, and I don't want her getting hurt."

"True, but we were saying that we needed knew Persona Users, and that was a Persona that came out of Karen earlier."

"Yeah, it was," Felix now understood why Peach was so conflicted with letting him help before. Now here he was, with no choice but to ask her join them, but not sure if he was going to. Karen took that as her cue to walk up to him and Mario.

"Felix, I didn't hurt you, did I?" Karen asked.

"Not at all," Felix replied, "I'm just happy that you're safe."

Karen looked down, still really embarrassed by what happened apparently, "Um, when we wake up, could you and I talk?" she asked, getting a nod from Felix, "Great. I'll see you then." Karen walked over to the silver door, and walked through disappearing.

"To think," Mario began, "that it was that simple, assuming you can call what we just went through simple." Mario walked past Peach and Nights exiting the Dream World as well. Peach and Nights went over to Felix.

"How do you feel?" Peach asked Felix.

"Tired," Felix replied simply.

"Yeah, I bet. Unfortunately you'll still feel tired when you wake up, so I'm afraid you're in for a long day tomorrow," Peach said putting her hand on Felix's shoulder, "I'll see you in school," Felix nodded in response. Peach then walked through the door to the door exiting the Dream World as well. Felix turned to Nights, who was looking at the door currently.

"Thanks for the help," Felix said catching Nights' attention.

"Oh, yeah. You're welcome. Anything for my friends," Nights proclaimed proudly, but then got serious, "Come back soon, okay?" he said actually a little sadly, prompting a nod from Felix, who walked up to the door, and vanished to the Waking World. Nights looked around and then sighed.

"Alone again, huh?" Nights said looking down, "Oh well," he shrugged his shoulders and then flew off.


End file.
